Abstract
The kinetics of AMPA receptor activation, deactivation, and desensitization shape the synaptic current at a majority of synapses in the central nervous system; however, the sequence of molecular events that make up these receptors’ reaction mechanism is unknown. Information about reaction mechanism is best extracted from single-molecule observations, which for ion channels can be done in real time with the patch-clamp technique. AMPA receptors have complex single-channel behaviors, which have been difficult to organize into a comprehensive mechanism. Here we describe methodology to obtain lengthy recordings of currents from one AMPA receptor and show how kinetic analysis was applied to organize the signal into classes of activity or modes that follow similar kinetic patterns. This approach can provide valuable insights into the molecular transitions that produce the activation, deactivation, and desensitization of ionotropic glutamate receptors and of ligand-gated channels in general.
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Poon, K., Oswald, R.E., Nowak, L.M. (2016). Current Recording and Kinetic Analyses for Single AMPA Receptors. In: Popescu, G. (eds) Ionotropic Glutamate Receptor Technologies. Neuromethods, vol 106. Humana Press, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-2812-5_17
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-2812-5_17
Publisher Name: Humana Press, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4939-2811-8
Online ISBN: 978-1-4939-2812-5
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