Gating Motions and Stationary Gating Properties of Ionotropic Glutamate Receptors: Computation Meets Electrophysiology.

ABSTRACT: Ionotropic glutamate receptors (iGluRs) are tetrameric ligand-gated ion channels essential to all aspects of brain function, including higher order processes such as learning and memory. For decades, electrophysiology was the primary means for characterizing the function of iGluRs and gaining mechanistic insight. Since the turn of the century, structures of isolated water-soluble domains and transmembrane-domain-containing constructs have provided the basis for formulating mechanistic hypotheses. Because these structures only represent sparse, often incomplete snapshots during iGluR activation, significant gaps in knowledge remain regarding structures, energetics, and dynamics of key substates along the functional processes. Some of these gaps have recently been filled by molecular dynamic

SUBMITTER: Zhou HX 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5398286 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature