Structure and Mechanism of Neuronal Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors

Alcohol's actions on neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors.

Although it has been known for many years that alcoholism and tobacco addiction often co-occur, relatively little information is available on the biological factors that regulate the co-use and abuse of nicotine and alcohol. In the brain, nicotine acts at several different types of receptors collectively known as nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs). Alcohol also acts on at least some of ...

Emerging structure of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptors.

The conversion of acetylcholine binding into ion conduction across the membrane is becoming more clearly understood in terms of the structure of the receptor and its transitions. A high-resolution structure of a protein that is homologous to the extracellular domain of the receptor has revealed the binding sites and subunit interfaces in great detail. Although the structures of the membrane and...

Upregulation and Functionality of Neuronal Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors

Molecular and Cell Biological Characterisation of Neuronal Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors

Molecular and cell biological characterisation of neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) provides an insight into their functional roles and potential as therapeutic targets for neurological disorders. Nicotinic receptors are oligomeric ligandgated ion channels, comprising five subunits. Twelve vertebrate neuronal nAChR subunits (a2-al0 and (32-|34) have been cloned to date, with c...

Modulatory mechanism of the endogenous peptide catestatin on neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors and exocytosis.

The catestatin fragment of chromogranin A is the first known endogenous compound able to inhibit catecholamine release elicited by the activation of neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) of different animal species and catecholaminergic cell types. However, how catestatin regulates the receptor activity, which subunit combination of the heteropentameric forms of receptor is better...