Characterization of Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors

The diversity of subtypes of nicotine acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) provides it with the necessary structural and functional flexibility to perform various roles. Creative Bioarray is committed to providing clients with the characterization service of nAChR, including nAChR subunit structure, nAChR expression, and nAChR function, providing a theoretical basis for the study of nAChR channels.

Background

nAChRs are transmembrane protein receptors, that belong to the "Cys-loop" superfamily of ligand-gated ion channels. nAChRs are widely expressed in the central nervous system, peripheral nervous system, and muscle tissue, and participate in a series of physiological and pathological functions. It has been reported that the diversity of the structure, expression pattern, functional and pharmacological properties of neuronal nAChRs stems from many possible subunit combinations.

The binding of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine (ACh) or an exogenous agonist such as nicotine is transduced into an intracellular signal by opening the nAChR's intrinsic ion channel, allowing the flow of cations through the receptor. During this process, nAChRs can exist in multiple conformational states and achieve rapid transitions between states. In recent years, the understanding of the three-dimensional structure and channel-gated structural features has reached an advanced stage. Modern genetic manipulation techniques such as gene knockout have provided effective means to study nAChRs in vivo, accelerating the understanding of their structures and functions.

Fig. 1 Transmembrane topology of a nAChR subunit. (Dani, 2015)

Our Services

We provide our clients with nAChR characterization services by combining genetic technology, microscopy, functional analysis and other techniques. Our services include but not limited to:

• Analysis of nAChR subunit mRNA expression level and protein level.
• Structural analysis.
• Refined structural analysis of nAChRs, including the structure of the nAChR pore and nAChR subunits.
• Crystal structure analysis of ACh binding protein (AChBP) homologous to the extracellular domain of receptors.
• Structural analysis of nAChR inhibitors derived from natural toxins with various chemical properties and complexed with AChBP.
• Determination of Ligand-binding sites. We provide ligand binding and function assays combined with site-specific mutagenesis, chemical modification, structural characterization and other technologies to help our clients analyze the mechanisms by which ligands bind to receptors and transmit channel activation or gating signals.
• Electrophysiological analysis of functional nAChRs in brain, including somatodendritic nAChRs, axon terminal nAChRs, preterminal nAChRs, and myelinated axon nAChRs.

Advantages of Us

• Skilled and experienced professional team
• Focus and investment in R&D
• Flexible experimental scheme
• Costly and well-equipped facility
• On-time delivery and high standard of service

Creative Bioarray is committed to providing clients with high-quality nAChR characterization services, providing valuable information for clarifying the physiological and pharmacological effects of nAChRs and providing templates for structure-based drug design. If you are interested in our services, please contact us for more details.

Reference

1. Dani, J. A. Neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptor structure and function and response to nicotine. International review of neurobiology, 2015, 124: 3-19.