Improved resolution of single channel dwell times reveals mechanisms of binding, priming, and gating in muscle AChR.

ABSTRACT: The acetylcholine receptor (AChR) from vertebrate skeletal muscle initiates voluntary movement, and its kinetics of activation are crucial for maintaining the safety margin for neuromuscular transmission. Furthermore, the kinetic mechanism of the muscle AChR serves as an archetype for understanding activation mechanisms of related receptors from the Cys-loop superfamily. Here we record currents through single muscle AChR channels with improved temporal resolution approaching half an order of magnitude over our previous best. A range of concentrations of full and partial agonists are used to elicit currents from human wild-type and gain-of-function mutant AChRs. For each agonist-receptor combination, rate constants are estimated from maximum likelihood analysis using a kinetic scheme compri

SUBMITTER: Mukhtasimova N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4924934 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature