Molecular Cloning of the Acetylcholine Receptor
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Excerpt
Acetylcholine (ACh) mediates synaptic transmission at the vertebrate neuromuscular junction. The synthesis and properties of the molecular components that subserve transmission at this synapse are determined by the interaction of nerve and muscle. In this respect, the neuromuscular junction may be typical of other synapses that are formed and stabilized through appropriate interaction of the pre- and postsynaptic cells. To study the mechanisms involved in synaptogenesis, we first chose to study the properties and regulation of one component of the transmission machinery, the receptor for ACh. This multimeric transmembrane glycoprotein resides in the postsynaptic membrane where it functions to convert binding of ACh into a change in the transmembrane potential.
Many properties of the ACh receptor (AChR) are determined by the presence of functional innervation (for review, see Fambrough 1979). Prior to innervation of an embryonic muscle cell by a motor neuron, AChRs are found over the entire surface of...
