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Updated: May 18, 2026

A High-throughput Calcium-flux Assay to Study NMDA-receptors with Sensitivity to Glycine/D-serine and Glutamate
Published on: July 10, 2018
Stoichiometry of the human glycine receptor revealed by direct subunit counting
Nela Durisic1, Antoine G Godin, Claudia M Wever
1Institut de Ciències Fotòniques, 08860 Castelldefels (Barcelona), Spain, Institut universitaire en santé mentale de Québec, Québec, G1J 2G3 Canada.
Abstract:
The subunit stoichiometry of heteromeric glycine-gated channels determines fundamental properties of these key inhibitory neurotransmitter receptors; however, the ratio of α1- to β-subunits per receptor remains controversial. We used single-molecule imaging and stepwise photobleaching in Xenopus oocytes to directly determine the subunit stoichiometry of a glycine receptor to be 3α1:2β. This approach allowed us to determine the receptor stoichiometry in mixed populations consisting of both heteromeric and homomeric channels, additionally revealing the quantitative proportions for the two populations.

