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Updated: Apr 23, 2026
Tracking Single Proteins in Lipid Bilayers Using Fluorescence Microscopy
Published on: December 12, 2025
Real time ligand-induced motion mappings of AChBP and nAChR using X-ray single molecule tracking
Hiroshi Sekiguchi1, Yasuhito Suzuki2, Yuri Nishino3
11] CREST Sasaki Team, Japan Science and Technology Agency, The University of Tokyo, #609 Kiban Bldg., 5-1-5 Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa City, Chiba, 277-8561, Japan [2] Research &Utilization Division, Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute, SPring-8 1-1-1 Kouto, Sayo-cho, Sayo-gun, Hyogo 679-5198, Japan.
Abstract:
We observed the dynamic three-dimensional (3D) single molecule behaviour of acetylcholine-binding protein (AChBP) and nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) using a single molecule tracking technique, diffracted X-ray tracking (DXT) with atomic scale and 100 μs time resolution. We found that the combined tilting and twisting motions of the proteins were enhanced upon acetylcholine (ACh) binding. We present the internal motion maps of AChBP and nAChR in the presence of either ACh or α-bungarotoxin (αBtx), with views from two rotational axes. Our findings indicate that specific motion patterns represented as biaxial angular motion maps are associated with channel function in real time and on an atomic scale.
