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Updated: Sep 27, 2026

Localization of Plasma Membrane and Intracellular Neuronal Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors Using Quantitative Imaging in Mammalian Cells
Published on: December 19, 2025
Synthesis, nicotinic acetylcholine receptor binding affinities, and molecular modeling of constrained epibatidine
Zhi-Liang Wei1, Pavel A Petukhov, Yingxian Xiao
1Drug Discovery Program, Department of Neurology, Georgetown University Medical Center, 3900 Reservoir Road, NW, Washington, DC 20057, USA.
Abstract:
Conformationally constrained epibatidine analogues 20a,b and 23a,b were synthesized using a radical cyclization as the key step. Radioligand displacement assays to six defined rat nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) subtypes showed that 20a,b bind with moderate affinities, while 23a,b have low affinities. 20a exhibits higher affinity for the beta2 containing subtype than for the beta4 containing counterpart, while 20b possesses reversed selectivity. Modeling studies suggest that the spatial distribution of the ligand's atoms around the pharmacophore elements may control their nAChR subtype selectivity.
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