Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 12, 2026

Local Application of Drugs to Study Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor Function in Mouse Brain Slices
Published on: October 29, 2012
Emerging structure of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptors
1Center for Molecular Recognition, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University, New York, New York 10032, USA. ak12@columbia.edu
Abstract:
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 cytoplasmic domains are less well determined, the channel lining and the determinants of selectivity have been mapped. The location and structure of the gates, and the coupling between binding sites and gates, remain to be established.
More Related Videos
12:19Live Imaging of Nicotine Induced Calcium Signaling and Neurotransmitter Release Along Ventral Hippocampal Axons
Published on: June 24, 2015
09:06Localization of Plasma Membrane and Intracellular Neuronal Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors Using Quantitative Imaging in Mammalian Cells
Published on: December 19, 2025
Related Concept Videos
Ligand-Gated Ion Channel Receptor: Gating Mechanism
Cholinergic Neurons: Neurotransmission
Cholinergic Receptors: Muscarinic
The subtypes M1, M3, and M5 couple with the Gq subunit and activate the phospholipase C (PLC) activity, mobilizing intracellular Ca2+. Activation...
Cholinergic Receptors: Nicotinic
There are two types of nicotinic receptors: neuromuscular (NM/NM/N1) and neuronal (NN/NN/N2). The two families differ based on their location and selectivity to...
Direct-Acting Cholinergic Agonists: Chemistry and Structure-Activity Relationship
The direct-acting...
Cholinergic Antagonists: Chemistry and Structure-Activity Relationship