Interactions of general anesthetics within the pore of an ion channel.
(1) We review the electrophysiological evidence that the ion channel pore is the site at which general anesthetics bind to inhibit muscle-type acetylcholine receptor channels. (2) The amphipathic character of a pore certainly offers a suitable environment for the binding of amphipathic anesthetics. (3) The absence of direct information about the binding sites of these rather non-specific drugs, forces us to rely on indirect information provided by kinetic experiments. (4) We also discuss the implications of these findings for the interaction of general anesthetics with other ion channels.
Klinik für Anästhesiologie, Universität Bonn, Germany.
M
M
Barann
I
I
Wenningmann
J P
JP
Dilger
D018681:Anesthetics, General / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000818:Animals; D001665:Binding Sites / Q000187:drug effects; D018680:Cholinergic Antagonists / Q000494:pharmacology; D004594:Electrophysiology; D006801:Humans; D007473:Ion Channels / Q000187:drug effects*; D011950:Receptors, Cholinergic / Q000187:drug effects
D018681:Anesthetics, General; D018680:Cholinergic Antagonists; D007473:Ion Channels; D011950:Receptors, Cholinergic