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Updated: Feb 11, 2026

Site Directed Spin Labeling and EPR Spectroscopic Studies of Pentameric Ligand-Gated Ion Channels
Published on: July 4, 2016
Ligand-Gated Ion Channels
Ferdinand Hucho1, Christoph Weise1
1Institut für Chemie - Biochemie Freie Universität Berlin Thielallee 63, 14195 Berlin (Germany) Fax: (+49) 30-8385-3753.
Abstract:
Ion channels are at the heart of many biological processes such as nerve activity and muscle contraction. How are their impressive ion selectivity and highly specialized gating brought about? In recent years, X-ray crystallography and high-resolution electron microscopy, as well as photo-affinity labeling and site-specific mutagenesis techniques in combination with patch-clamp electrophysiology have provided a detailed picture of some channel proteins. Herein we summarize the main structural and functional properties of channel proteins based on the advances made mainly within the last decade. We integrate these novel insights into a comprehensive description of the class of ligand-gated ion channels.
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