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Publication Abstract from PubMed

Glycine Receptors (GlyRs) provide inhibitory neuronal input in the spinal cord and brainstem, which is critical for muscle coordination and sensory perception. Synaptic GlyRs are a heteromeric assembly of alpha and beta subunits. Here we present cryo-EM structures of full-length zebrafish alpha1beta(B)GlyR in the presence of an antagonist (strychnine), agonist (glycine), or agonist with a positive allosteric modulator (glycine/ivermectin). Each structure shows a distinct pore conformation with varying degrees of asymmetry. Molecular dynamic simulations found the structures were in a closed (strychnine) and desensitized states (glycine and glycine/ivermectin). Ivermectin binds at all five interfaces, but in a distinct binding pose at the beta-alpha interface. Subunit-specific features were sufficient to solve structures without a fiduciary marker and to confirm the 4alpha:1beta stoichiometry recently observed. We also report features of the extracellular and intracellular domains. Together, our results show distinct compositional and conformational properties of alpha(1)betaGlyR and provide a framework for further study of this physiologically important channel.

Conformational transitions and allosteric modulation in a heteromeric glycine receptor.,Gibbs E, Klemm E, Seiferth D, Kumar A, Ilca SL, Biggin PC, Chakrapani S Nat Commun. 2023 Mar 13;14(1):1363. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-37106-7. PMID:36914669^[3]

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.