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Title: Structural principles of distinct assemblies of the human α4β2 nicotinic receptor

Journal Article · · Nature (London)
 [1];  [2];  [1];  [1];  [1];  [1]
  1. Univ. of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX (United States)
  2. Stanford Univ., Stanford, CA (United States); SLAC National Accelerator Lab., Menlo Park, CA (United States)

Fast chemical communication in the nervous system is mediated by neurotransmitter-gated ion channels. The prototypical member of this class of cell surface receptors is the cation-selective nicotinic acetylcholine receptor. As with most ligand-gated ion channels, nicotinic receptors assemble as oligomers of subunits, usually as hetero-oligomers and often with variable stoichiometries. This intrinsic heterogeneity in protein composition provides fine tunability in channel properties, which is essential to brain function, but frustrates structural and biophysical characterization. The α4β2 subtype of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor is the most abundant isoform in the human brain and is the principal target in nicotine addiction. This pentameric ligand-gated ion channel assembles in two stoichiometries of α- and β-subunits (2α:3β and 3α:2β). Both assemblies are functional and have distinct biophysical properties, and an imbalance in the ratio of assemblies is linked to both nicotine addiction and congenital epilepsy. Here we leverage cryo-electron microscopy to obtain structures of both receptor assemblies from a single sample. Antibody fragments specific to β2 were used to ‘break’ symmetry during particle alignment and to obtain high-resolution reconstructions of receptors of both stoichiometries in complex with nicotine. Furthermore, the results reveal principles of subunit assembly and the structural basis of the distinctive biophysical and pharmacological properties of the two different stoichiometries of this receptor.

Research Organization:
SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-76SF00515
OSTI ID:
1461187
Journal Information:
Nature (London), Vol. 557, Issue 7704; ISSN 0028-0836
Publisher:
Nature Publishing GroupCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 119 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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Cited By (18)

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Nicotinic receptor abnormalities as a biomarker in idiopathic generalized epilepsy journal September 2018
TRPC1 as a negative regulator for TRPC4 and TRPC5 channels journal June 2019
Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor Density in the “Higher-Order” Thalamus Projecting to the Prefrontal Cortex in Humans: a PET Study journal May 2019
Structure of a human synaptic GABAA receptor journal June 2018
A lipid site shapes the agonist response of a pentameric ligand-gated ion channel journal October 2019
Cryo-EM in drug discovery journal January 2019
Microsecond-timescale simulations suggest 5-HT–mediated preactivation of the 5-HT 3A serotonin receptor journal December 2019
Inhale, exhale: Probing the inside-out mechanism of nicotine addiction using novel fluorescent sensors journal March 2019
Engineering a surrogate human heteromeric α/β glycine receptor orthosteric site exploiting the structural homology and stability of acetylcholine-binding protein journal September 2019
Molecular dynamics simulations of dihydro‐β‐erythroidine bound to the human α4β2 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor journal June 2019
Expression and purification of a functional heteromeric GABAA receptor for structural studies journal July 2018
Distinctive single-channel properties of α4β2-nicotinic acetylcholine receptor isoforms journal March 2019
Crystal Structure of the Monomeric Extracellular Domain of α9 Nicotinic Receptor Subunit in Complex With α-Conotoxin RgIA: Molecular Dynamics Insights Into RgIA Binding to α9α10 Nicotinic Receptors journal May 2019
Minimal Structural Changes Determine Full and Partial Nicotinic Receptor Agonist Activity for Nicotine Analogues journal July 2019
Cryo-EM structure of the benzodiazepine-sensitive α1β1γ2S tri-heteromeric GABAA receptor in complex with GABA journal July 2018
Synthetic antibodies against BRIL as universal fiducial marks for single−particle cryoEM structure determination of membrane proteins journal March 2020
CHRNA2 and Nocturnal Frontal Lobe Epilepsy: Identification and Characterization of a Novel Loss of Function Mutation journal February 2019

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