Voluntary movement mediated by skeletal muscle relies on endplate acetylcholine receptors (AChR) to detect nerve-released ACh and depolarize themuscle fiber. Recent structural and mechanistic studies of the endplate AChR have catalyzed a leap in our understanding of the molecular steps in this chemical-to-electrical transduction process. Studies of acetylcholine binding protein (AChBP) give insight into ACh recognition, the first step in activation of the AChR. An atomic structural model of the Torpedo AChR at a resolution of 0.4 nm, together with single-ion channel recording methods, allow tracing of the link between the agonist binding event and gating of the ion channel, as well as determination of how the channel moves when it opens to allow flow of cations. Structural models of the human AChR enable precise mapping of disease-causing mutations, while studies of the speed with which single AChR channels open and close cast light on pathogenic mechanisms.

Acetylcholine-binding protein (AChBP) recently emerged as a prototype for relating structure to function of the ligand binding domain of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (AChRs). To understand interactions of competitive antagonists at the atomic structural level, we studied binding of the curare derivatives d-tubocurarine (d-TC) and metocurine to AChBP using computational methods, mutagenesis, and ligand binding measurements. To account for protein flexibility, we used a 2-ns molecular dynamics simulation of AChBP to generate multiple snapshots of the equilibrated dynamic structure to which optimal docking orientations were determined. Our results predict a predominant docking orientation for both d-TC and metocurine, but unexpectedly, the bound orientations differ fundamentally for each ligand. At one subunit interface of AChBP, the side chain of Tyr-89 closely approaches a positively charged nitrogen in d-TC but is farther away from the equivalent nitrogen in metocurine, whereas, at the opposing interface, side chains of Trp-53 and Gln-55 closely approach the metocurine scaffold but not that of d-TC. The different orientations correspond to ~170° rotation and ~30° degree tilt of the curare scaffold within the binding pocket. Mutagenesis of binding site residues in AChBP, combined with measurements of ligand binding, confirms the different docking orientations. Thus structurally similar ligands can adopt distinct orientations at receptor binding sites, posing challenges for interpreting structure-activity relationships for many drugs.

Agonist binding to Cys-loop receptors promotes a large transmembrane ion flux of several million cations or anions per second. To investigate structural bases for the rapid and charge-selective flux, we used all atom molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, X-ray crystallography, and single channel recording. MD simulations of the muscle nicotinic receptor, imbedded in a lipid bilayer with an applied transmembrane potential, reveal single cation translocation events during transient periods of channel hydration. During the simulation trajectory, cations paused for prolonged periods near several rings of anionic residues projecting from the lumen of the extracellular domain of the receptor, but subsequently the cation moved rapidly through the hydrophobic transmembrane region as the constituent alpha-helices exhibited back and forth rocking motions. Cocrystallization of acetylcholine binding protein with sulfate ions revealed coordination of five sulfates with residues from one of these charged rings; in cation-selective Cys-loop receptors this ring contains negatively charged residues, whereas in anion-selective receptors it contains positively charged residues. In the muscle nicotinic receptor, charge reversal of residues of this ring decreases unitary conductance by up to 80%. Thus in Cys-loop receptors, a series of charged rings along the ion translocation pathway concentrates hydrated ions relative to bulk solution, giving rise to charge selectivity, and then subtle motions of the hydrophobic transmembrane, coupled with transient periods of water filling, enable rapid ion flux.

In the course of synaptic transmission in the brain and periphery, acetylcholine receptors (AChRs) rapidly transduce a chemical signal into an electrical impulse. The speed of transduction owes in large part to rapid ACh association and dissociation, implying a binding site relatively non-selective for small cations; selective transduction has been supposed to originate from the ability of ACh, over that of other organic cations, to trigger the subsequent channel opening step. However transitions to and from the open state were shown to be similar for agonists with widely different efficacies.1,2,3 Here, by studying mutant AChRs, we find that the ultimate closed to open transition is agonist-independent and preceded by two primed closed states; the first primed state elicits brief openings, whereas the second elicits long-lived openings. Long-lived openings and the associated primed state are detected in the absence and presence of agonist, and exhibit the same kinetic signatures under both conditions. By covalently locking the agonist binding sites in the bound conformation, we find that each site initiates a priming step. Thus a change in binding site conformation primes the AChR for channel opening in a process that enables selective activation by ACh while maximizing speed and efficiency of the biological response.

The title compound, [Ni(C4H13N3)2][Ni(C4N2S2)2], has been synthesized by the reaction of Ni(ClO4)2·6H2O, diethyl­enetriamine (deta) and Na2[Ni(mnt)2] [mnt = maleonitrile­dithiol­ate(2-)] in methanol. The structure is composed of a [Ni(deta)2]2+ cation and a [Ni(mnt)2]2− anion. The coordination geometry of the NiII ion in the cation is slightly distorted octa­hedral, defined by six N atoms from two deta ligands, while the NiII ion in the anion is four-coordinated by four S atoms from two mnt ligands in a slightly distorted square-planar geometry. The cations and anions are connected by N—H⋯N hydrogen bonds.

We used molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to explore the transport of single cations through the channel of the muscle nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR). Four MD simulations of 16 ns were performed at physiological and hyperpolarized membrane potentials, with and without restraints of the structure, but all without bound agonist. With the structure unrestrained and a potential of −100 mV, one cation traversed the channel during a transient period of channel hydration; at −200 mV, the channel was continuously hydrated and two cations traversed the channel. With the structure restrained, however, cations did not traverse the channel at either membrane potential, even though the channel was continuously hydrated. The overall results show that cation selective transport through the nAChR channel is governed by electrostatic interactions to achieve charge selectivity, but ion translocation relies on channel hydration, facilitated by a trans-membrane field, coupled with dynamic fluctuations of the channel structure.

Author Summary

Communication between a cell and its environment relies on channel-forming proteins to provide a low energy pathway for ions to move in and out. Although channel-forming proteins are essential to all life forms, the atomic-scale mechanisms that enable ions to pass through the channel remain elusive due to the lack of experimental approaches to monitor the protein and ion in real time and at atomic resolution. A powerful alternative approach is molecular dynamics (MD) simulation based on the laws of physics applied to the increasing body of protein structures resolved at atomic resolution. Here we present all-atom MD simulations applied to the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) that initiates voluntary movement in skeletal muscle. By focusing on individual permeant cations, we find that selective cation translocation occurs in stages: cations are first selected through a series of oppositely charged residues within the protein vestibule leading to a narrow hydrophobic constriction, but then hydration of the narrow region and dynamic fluctuations of the protein enable the cation to pass through. The findings provide a general framework for understanding how ions are selected for transport based on charge, and how the dynamic interplay between water, the ion, and the channel protein enable rapid ion translocation through the broad class of channel-forming proteins with hydrophobic barriers.

By defining functional defects in a congenital myasthenic syndrome (CMS), we show that two mutant residues, located in a binding site region of the acetylcholine receptor (AChR) epsilon subunit, exert opposite effects on ACh binding and suppress channel gating. Single channel kinetic analysis reveals that the first mutation, ɛN182Y, increases ACh affinity for receptors in the resting closed state, which promotes sequential occupancy of the binding sites and discloses rate constants for ACh occupancy of the nonmutant αδ site. Studies of the analogous mutation in the δ subunit, δN187Y, disclose rate constants for ACh occupancy of the nonmutant αɛ site. The second CMS mutation, ɛD175N, reduces ACh affinity for receptors in the resting closed state; occupancy of the mutant site still promotes gating because a large difference in affinity is maintained between closed and open states. ɛD175N impairs overall gating, however, through an effect independent of ACh occupancy. When mapped on a structural model of the AChR binding site, ɛN182Y localizes to the interface with the α subunit, and ɛD175 to the entrance of the ACh binding cavity. Both ɛN182Y and ɛD175 show state specificity in affecting closed relative to desensitized state affinities, suggesting that the protein chain harboring ɛN182 and ɛD175 rearranges in the course of receptor desensitization. The overall results show that key residues at the ACh binding site differentially stabilize the agonist bound to closed, open and desensitized states, and provide a set point for gating of the channel.

We describe the genetic and kinetic defects in a congenital myasthenic syndrome due to the mutation εA411P in the amphipathic helix of the acetylcholine receptor (AChR) ε subunit. Myasthenic patients from three unrelated families are either homozygous for εA411P or are heterozygous and harbor a null mutation in the second ε allele, indicating that εA411P is recessive. We expressed human AChRs containing wild-type or A411P ε subunits in 293HEK cells, recorded single channel currents at high bandwidth, and determined microscopic rate constants for individual channels using hidden Markov modeling. For individual wild-type and mutant channels, each rate constant distributes as a Gaussian function, but the spread in the distributions for channel opening and closing rate constants is greatly expanded by εA411P. Prolines engineered into positions flanking residue 411 of the ε subunit greatly increase the range of activation kinetics similar to εA411P, whereas prolines engineered into positions equivalent to εA411 in β and δ subunits are without effect. Thus, the amphipathic helix of the ε subunit stabilizes the channel, minimizing the number and range of kinetic modes accessible to individual AChRs. The findings suggest that analogous stabilizing structures are present in other ion channels, and possibly allosteric proteins in general, and that they evolved to maintain uniformity of activation episodes. The findings further suggest that the fundamental gating mechanism of the AChR channel can be explained by a corrugated energy landscape superimposed on a steeply sloped energy well.

We describe the kinetic consequences of the mutation N217K in the M1 domain of the acetylcholine receptor (AChR) α subunit that causes a slow channel congenital myasthenic syndrome (SCCMS). We previously showed that receptors containing αN217K expressed in 293 HEK cells open in prolonged activation episodes strikingly similar to those observed at the SCCMS end plates. Here we use single channel kinetic analysis to show that the prolonged activation episodes result primarily from slowing of the rate of acetylcholine (ACh) dissociation from the binding site. Rate constants for channel opening and closing are also slowed but to much smaller extents. The rate constants derived from kinetic analysis also describe the concentration dependence of receptor activation, revealing a 20-fold shift in the EC50 to lower agonist concentrations for αN217K. The apparent affinity of ACh binding, measured by competition against the rate of 125I-α-bungarotoxin binding, is also enhanced 20-fold by αN217K. Both the slowing of ACh dissociation and enhanced apparent affinity are specific to the lysine substitution, as the glutamine and glutamate substitutions have no effect. Substituting lysine for the equivalent asparagine in the β, ε, or δ subunits does not affect the kinetics of receptor activation or apparent agonist affinity. The results show that a mutation in the amino-terminal portion of the M1 domain produces a localized perturbation that stabilizes agonist bound to the resting state of the AChR.