Biophysical and ion channel functional characterization of the Torpedo californica nicotinic acetylcholine receptor in varying detergent-lipid environments.

ABSTRACT: The nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) of Torpedo electric rays has been extensively characterized over the last three decades. However, high-resolution structural studies have been hampered by the lack of mechanistic molecular models that describe how detergents influence membrane protein stability and function. Furthermore, elucidation of the dynamic detergent-lipid-protein interactions of solubilized membrane proteins is a largely unexplored research field. This study examines the effects of nine detergents on: (1) nAChR-lipid composition (gas chromatography with flame ionization; GC-FID and/or mass selective detectors; GC-MSD), (2) stability and aggregation state (analytical size exclusion chromatography; A-SEC and electron microscopy; EM) and (3) ion channel function (planar lip

SUBMITTER: Asmar-Rovira GA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2668541 | biostudies-literature | 2008 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature