Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Ligand-Gated Channels

2005; Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers; Volume: 4; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1109/tnb.2004.842497

1558-2639

Peter H. Barry, Joseph W. Lynch,

Ion channel regulation and function

Ligand-gated ion channels (LGICs) are fast-responding channels in which the receptor, which binds the activating molecule (the ligand), and the ion channel are part of the same nanomolecular protein complex. This paper will describe the properties and functions of the nicotinic acetylcholine LGIC superfamily, which plays a critical role in the fast chemical transmission of electrical signals between nerve cells and between nerve and muscle cells. The superfamily will mainly be exemplified by the excitatory nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) and the inhibitory glycine receptor (GlyR) channels.