Characterization of Glycine Receptor Chloride Channels

Creative Bioarray has extensive expertise in the field of ion channels and advanced experimental equipment to ensure comprehensive glycine receptor (GlyR) characterization services for clients. We help our clients obtain data on the structural and functional properties of GlyR, providing valuable information for elucidating the modulation of GlyR and its possible mechanisms.

Introduction

GlyR is an important inhibitory receptor in the central nervous system and is involved in a variety of physiological processes, the most important of which is to mediate rapid inhibitory neurotransmission in the spinal cord and brainstem. GlyR is a chloride ion (Cl^-) selective channel protein belonging to the ligand-gated ion channel superfamily. The intact Cl^- selective pore opens when glycine binds to the site on the GlyR surface, allowing Cl^- to diffuse passively across the membrane.

The current research on glycine receptor chloride channels mainly focuses on the molecular mechanism of GlyR trafficking and clustering at synapses as well as the molecular structure and function of the GlyR. In recent years, with the application of various biological techniques such as crystallography, microscopy, point mutation, and receptor modeling, research on the structure and function of GyR has intensified. New insights gained in structural, mutagenic, and functional studies have contributed to a deeper understanding of the function and regulation of glycine receptor chloride channels.

Fig. 1 Topology and schematic structure of GlyR. (Burgos, 2016)

Our Services

We provide our clients with GlyR characterization services, mainly focusing on structural analysis and functional analysis. Our services include but not limited to:

• Molecular diversity analysis of GlyR subunits.
• Distribution analysis of GlyRs in the nervous system.
• Distribution analysis of functional GlyRs, including distribution of strychnine and glycine binding sites, GlyR immunoreactivity, and functional glycinergic synapse.
• Distribution analysis of GlyR subunits.
• Distribution analysis of GlyRs in other tissues, such as spermatozoa, endocrine pancreas, kupffer cells and other macrophages.
• Structural characterization of GlyR.
• Structural analysis of transmembrane domains (TM), including analysis of the spatial organization, detection of TM domain secondary structure, and identification of structures of TM1, TM2, TM3, and TM4.
• Structural analysis of NH₂-terminal ligand-binding domain.
• Structural analysis of large intracellular domain.
• Structural and functional analysis of the pore, including analysis of ionic selectivity and single-channel conductance.
• Analysis of the GlyR subunit stoichiometry and arrangement to define the number and type of subunit interfaces.
• Kinetic modeling of glycine receptor gating and analysis of structural changes accompanying activation.

Applications

In recent years, we have helped clients obtain a lot of information in the GlyR field, which can be applied to the following research:

• Development of selective agonists, antagonists, and modulators for specific GlyR subunits
• Study on physiological and pathological effects of different GlyR subtypes
• Development of glycinergic-based pharmacotherapies

Creative Bioarray provides clients with characterization services for glycine receptor chloride channels to help them make rapid progress in understanding the molecular functional architecture of GlyRs. If you are interested in our services, please feel free to contact us for more details.

Reference

1. Burgos, C. F.; et al. Structure and pharmacologic modulation of inhibitory glycine receptors. Molecular pharmacology, 2016, 90(3): 318-325.