Single channel kinetics of a glutamate receptor.
The glutamate receptor-channel of locust muscle membrane was studied using the patch-clamp technique. Muscles were pretreated with concanavalin A to block receptor-channel desensitization, thus facilitating analysis of receptor-channel gating kinetics. Single channel kinetics were analyzed to aid in identification of the molecular basis of channel gating. Channel dwell-time distributions and dwell-time autocorrelation functions were calculated from single channel data recorded in the precence of 10-4M glutamate. Analysis of the dwell time distributions in terms of mixtures of exponential functions revealed there to be at least three open states of the receptor-channel and at least four closed states. Autocorrelation function analysis showed there to be at least three pathways linking the open states with the closed. This results in a minimal scheme for gating of the glutamate receptor-channel, which is suggestive of allosteric models of receptor-channel gating.
D000818:Animals; D005971:Glutamates / Q000378:metabolism*; D006110:Grasshoppers; D007473:Ion Channels / Q000378:metabolism; D007700:Kinetics; D008433:Mathematics; D008954:Models, Biological; D009132:Muscles / Q000378:metabolism; D017470:Receptors, Glutamate; D017981:Receptors, Neurotransmitter / Q000378:metabolism*
D005971:Glutamates; D007473:Ion Channels; D017470:Receptors, Glutamate; D017981:Receptors, Neurotransmitter