Acetylcholine Receptor Folding and Oligomerization

9319656绿色中枢是中枢神经系统功能的基础机制，不同的神经递质受体负责神经元之间以及神经和肌肉之间的快速信号传递。这些不同的神经递质受体是由几个亚基组成的膜蛋白，这些亚基结构相似，形成一个单一的大分子家族。虽然人们对这些受体的功能知之甚少，但对这些亚基如何折叠成正确的构象并组装在一起形成受体却知之甚少。为了解决这些问题，研究将集中在该受体家族中特征最好的成员，烟碱型乙酰胆碱受体。一系列实验将确定作为亚基组装一部分的特定化学过程，并确定负责亚基之间相互作用的亚基上的特定区域。***

9319656 Green Central to the mechanisms that underlie central nervous system function are the different neurotransmitter receptors responsible for the rapid signaling between neurons and between nerve and muscle. These different neurotransmitter receptors are membrane proteins composed of several subunits, which are structurally similar and form a single large molecular family. While much is known about how these receptors function, little is known about how the subunits fold into the correct conformation and assemble together to form the receptors. To address these questions, the research will focus on the best characterized member of this receptor family, the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor. A series of experiments will identify specific chemical processes that are part of subunit assembly and identify specific regions on the subunits responsible for interactions between subunits. ***