Mo. Ortells et al., MOLECULAR MODELING OF THE NICOTINIC ACETYLCHOLINE-RECEPTOR TRANSMEMBRANE REGION IN THE OPEN STATE, Protein engineering, 10(5), 1997, pp. 511-517
A model of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor transmembrane region h
as been constructed which may represent the channel in its open-state.
The positions of helices flanking the ion channel match those observe
d by electron microscopy and previously reported by others. Residues l
abelled, mutated or by other means known to have a strong influence on
ion flux are each accessible from the lumen of the modelled channel.
The model provides new insights into our current understanding of the
ion channel structure, and suggests some novel explanations for the re
sults of labelling and mutation studies such as those involving ion ch
annel blockers and residue-dependent changes in ion selectivity.