title: Amphipathic analysis and possible formation of the ion channel in an acetylcholine receptor.
abstract: Fourier analysis of the hydrophobicities of the acetylcholine receptor subunit sequences reveals regions of amphipathic secondary structure. Prediction of a consensus secondary structure based on this analysis and on an empirical prediction method leads to a testable hypothesis about how the ion channel is formed and might function. Knowledge of the three-dimensional structure of acetylcholine receptors is consistent with features of the model proposed and provides some constraints.
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D002151:Calorimetry; D007473:Ion Channels / Q000378:metabolism*; D007700:Kinetics; D046911:Macromolecular Substances; D008433:Mathematics; D008954:Models, Biological; D011487:Protein Conformation; D011950:Receptors, Cholinergic / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D007473:Ion Channels; D046911:Macromolecular Substances; D011950:Receptors, Cholinergic