Ligand-gated ion channels articles within Nature

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• Article | 30 June 2021

  cAMP binding to closed pacemaker ion channels is non-cooperative

  Direct monitoring of individual cAMP molecules binding to HCN ion channels reveals the binding dynamics underlying the distinct physiological responses of ion channel isoforms.

  • David S. White
  • , Sandipan Chowdhury
  •  & Baron Chanda

• Article | 02 January 2019

  GABA_A receptor signalling mechanisms revealed by structural pharmacology

  Cryo-electron microscopy structures are reported in which the full-length human α1β3γ2L GABA_A receptor in lipid nanodiscs is bound to the channel-blocker picrotoxin, the competitive antagonist bicuculline, the agonist GABA, and the benzodiazepines alprazolam and diazepam.

  • Simonas Masiulis
  • , Rooma Desai
  •  & A. Radu Aricescu

• Letter | 02 January 2019

  Cryo-EM structure of the human α1β3γ2 GABA_A receptor in a lipid bilayer

  A high-resolution cryo-electron microscopy structure is reported for the full-length human α1β3γ2L GABA_A receptor, functionally reconstituted in lipid nanodiscs.

  • Duncan Laverty
  • , Rooma Desai
  •  & A. Radu Aricescu

• Letter | 31 October 2018

  Cryo-EM reveals two distinct serotonin-bound conformations of full-length 5-HT_3A receptor

  Cryo-electron microscopy structures of the serotonin-bound 5-HT_3A serotonin receptor show the receptor populating two distinct states, characterized by twisting in the extracellular and transmembrane domains relative to the apo state, which creates pathways for ion permeation.

  • Sandip Basak
  • , Yvonne Gicheru
  •  & Sudha Chakrapani

• Article | 27 June 2018

  Structure of a human synaptic GABA_A receptor

  The cryo-electron microscopy structure of the type A GABA receptor bound to GABA and the benzodiazepine site antagonist flumazenil reveals structural mechanisms that underlie intersubunit interactions and ligand selectivity of the receptor.

  • Shaotong Zhu
  • , Colleen M. Noviello
  •  & Ryan E. Hibbs

• Letter | 03 October 2016

  X-ray structure of the human α4β2 nicotinic receptor

  Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors are ligand-gated ion channels that mediate fast chemical neurotransmission; here, the first X-ray crystal structure of a nicotinic receptor is reported, revealing how nicotine stabilizes the receptor in a non-conducting, desensitized conformation.

  • Claudio L. Morales-Perez
  • , Colleen M. Noviello
  •  & Ryan E. Hibbs

• Article | 17 April 2013

  Gating of the TrkH ion channel by its associated RCK protein TrkA

  Here it is shown that ion flux through the TrkH–TrkA complex is upregulated by ATP and downregulated by ADP; solving the X-ray crystal structures of the tetrameric TrkA ring in the absence and presence of TrkH suggests a mechanism by which ATP-induced conformational changes in TrkA augment the activity of TrkH.

  • Yu Cao
  • , Yaping Pan
  •  & Ming Zhou

• Letter | 19 January 2011

  X-ray structures of general anaesthetics bound to a pentameric ligand-gated ion channel

  The mechanism of action of general anaesthetics is poorly understood, although there is some evidence that their principal protein targets are pentameric ligand-gated ion channels (pLGICs). Here, the X-ray crystal structures of propofol and desflurane bound to a bacterial homologue of the pLGIC family are solved. The structures reveal a common binding site for these two anaesthetics in the upper part of the transmembrane domain of each protomer.

  • Hugues Nury
  • , Catherine Van Renterghem
  •  & Pierre-Jean Corringer

• News & Views | 13 January 2010

  Astrocytes as aide-mémoires

  Memory formation is known to occur at the level of synaptic contacts between neurons. It therefore comes as a surprise that another type of brain cell, the astrocyte, is also involved in establishing memory.

  • Mirko Santello
  •  & Andrea Volterra