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The Molecular Biology of Muscle and Brain Acetylcholine Receptors

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Neurobiochemistry

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Abstract

Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (AChR) mediate chemical communication at synapses in many parts of the vertebrate nervous system, including neuromuscular junctions, autonomic ganglia, and certain sites in the brain. This occurs through the interaction of neuronally released acetylcholine (ACh) with recognition sites on the AChR in the postsynaptic membrane. Binding of ACh to the AChR activates a gated cation channel and results in a transient change in the permeability of the membrane, which can be measured as a depolarisation of the transmembrane electrical potential. This has been directly demonstrated for the best characterised AChR, that from the electroplax of Torpedo sp. or Eleotrophorus sp.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biochemistry, Imperial College of Science and Technology, London, SW7 2AZ, UK

    J. F. Jackson, D. M. W. Beeson, V. B. Cockcroft, T. L. Anderton, A. F. Wilderspin & E. A. Barnard

  2. Searle Research and Development, PO Box 53, Lane End Road, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, HP12 4HL, UK

    D. M. W. Beeson & L. D. Bell

  3. Division of Chemistry, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, 91125, USA

    B. M. Conti-Tronconi

Authors
  1. J. F. Jackson
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  2. D. M. W. Beeson
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  3. B. M. Conti-Tronconi
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  4. V. B. Cockcroft
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  5. T. L. Anderton
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  6. L. D. Bell
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  7. A. F. Wilderspin
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  8. E. A. Barnard
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Physiologisch-Chemisches Institut der Universität, Hoppe-Seiler-Straße 1, D-7400, Tübingen, Germany

    Bernd Hamprecht

  2. Max-Planck-Institut für Experimentelle Medizin, Hermann-Rein-Straße 3, D-3400, Göttingen, Germany

    Volker Neuhoff

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© 1985 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Jackson, J.F. et al. (1985). The Molecular Biology of Muscle and Brain Acetylcholine Receptors. In: Hamprecht, B., Neuhoff, V. (eds) Neurobiochemistry. Colloquium der Gesellschaft für Biologische Chemie 18.–20. April 1985 in Mosbach/Baden, vol 36. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-70940-1_11

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-70940-1_11

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-70942-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-70940-1

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