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Structural principles of distinct assemblies of the human α4β2 nicotinic receptor : Structural principles of distinct assemblies of the human alpha 4 beta 2 nicotinic receptor

Cited 145 time in Web of Science Cited 151 time in Scopus
Authors

Walsh, Richard M.; Roh, Soung-Hun; Gharpure, Anant; Morales-Perez, Claudio L.; Teng, Jinfeng; Hibbs, Ryan E.

Issue Date
2018-05
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
Citation
Nature, Vol.557 No.7704, pp.261-265
Abstract
© 2018 Macmillan Publishers Ltd., part of Springer Nature.Fast chemical communication in the nervous system is mediated by neurotransmitter-gated ion channels. The prototypical member of this class of cell surface receptors is the cation-selective nicotinic acetylcholine receptor. As with most ligand-gated ion channels, nicotinic receptors assemble as oligomers of subunits, usually as hetero-oligomers and often with variable stoichiometries 1 . This intrinsic heterogeneity in protein composition provides fine tunability in channel properties, which is essential to brain function, but frustrates structural and biophysical characterization. The α4β2 subtype of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor is the most abundant isoform in the human brain and is the principal target in nicotine addiction. This pentameric ligand-gated ion channel assembles in two stoichiometries of α- and β-subunits (2α:3β and 3α:2β). Both assemblies are functional and have distinct biophysical properties, and an imbalance in the ratio of assemblies is linked to both nicotine addiction 2,3 and congenital epilepsy 4,5 . Here we leverage cryo-electron microscopy to obtain structures of both receptor assemblies from a single sample. Antibody fragments specific to β2 were used to 'break' symmetry during particle alignment and to obtain high-resolution reconstructions of receptors of both stoichiometries in complex with nicotine. The results reveal principles of subunit assembly and the structural basis of the distinctive biophysical and pharmacological properties of the two different stoichiometries of this receptor.
ISSN
0028-0836
URI
https://hdl.handle.net/10371/202937
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-018-0081-7
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  • College of Natural Sciences
  • School of Biological Sciences
Research Area Cryogenic Electron Microscopy (Cryo-EM), Structural Biology, 분자생물학, 생물물리학, 생화학

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