Relating ligand binding and activation gating in nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (B07)

本项目旨在分析烟碱型乙酰胆碱受体(NAChR)的门控行为。新的ACh类似物将被合成用于共聚焦膜片钳荧光法。同时监测激动剂结合和受体激活将有助于揭示复杂的脱敏机制，考虑到两个结构不同的结合位点的特定贡献。此外，还将研究聚集蛋白Rapsyn在脱敏过程中的作用。

This project aims to analyze the gating behavior of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChR). Novel ACh analogs will be synthesized to be employed in confocal patch-clamp fluorometry. Simultaneous monitoring of agonist binding and receptor activation will shed light onto the complex desensitization mechanism, taking into account the specific contribution of the two structurally different binding sites. Furthermore, the role of the clustering protein rapsyn in the desensitization process will be studied.