Structure, Dynamics, and Ligand Recognition of Human-Specific CHRFAM7A (Dupα7) Nicotinic Receptor Linked to Neuropsychiatric Disorders.

ABSTRACT: Cholinergic α7 nicotinic receptors encoded by the CHRNA7 gene are ligand-gated ion channels directly related to memory and immunomodulation. Exons 5-7 in CHRNA7 can be duplicated and fused to exons A-E of FAR7a, resulting in a hybrid gene known as CHRFAM7A, unique to humans. Its product, denoted herein as Dupα7, is a truncated subunit where the N-terminal 146 residues of the ligand binding domain of the α7 receptor have been replaced by 27 residues from FAM7. Dupα7 negatively affects the functioning of α7 receptors associated with neurological disorders, including Alzheimer's diseases and schizophrenia. However, the stoichiometry for the α7 nicotinic receptor containing dupα7 monomers remains unknown. In this work, we developed computational models of all possib

SUBMITTER: Liu D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8196834 | biostudies-literature | 2021 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature