BIO 3153 Lecture Notes - Lecture 16: Acetylcholine Receptor, Lipid Bilayer, Conformational Change
Document Summary
One of our first views of a nicontinc receptor which passes through the phospholipid bilayer. Important because when we look at ion transport through channels, and compare them to transporters, transporters are much slower. Something that involves two states: one state where it"s open to the cytosol, another where it"s open to extracellular environment. Channels transport many more ions per second, 10-100 million/s. Too many to cover so we focus on a few specific ones, lump them into families. Way we divide them is based on the ions they transport. Potassium channels are selective for k: k+ channels regulate membrane potential, action potential recovery. Na+ channels underlie action potentials, found in neurons, allow for influx. 2. of na: ca2+ - help to control cytosolic [ca2+]. Selective in the sense that they usually transport positively charged ions. Sequence of aas that are part of the structure of the protein that help to selectively regulate what goes through.
