Arrangement of Subunits
Strychnine-sensitive glycine receptors are members of a family of Ligand-gated ion channels. Receptors of this family are arranged as five subunits surrounding a central pore, with each subunit composed of four α helical transmembrane segments.
There are presently four known isoforms of the α-subunit (α1-4) of GlyR that are essential to bind ligands (GLRA1, GLRA2, GLRA3, GLRA4) and a single β-subunit (GLRB).
The adult form of the GlyR is the heteromeric α1β receptor, which is believed to have a stoichiometry (proportion) of three α1 subunits and two β subunits or four α1 subunits and one β subunit. The α-subunits are also able to form functional homo-pentameric receptors in heterologous expression systems in African clawed frog's oocytes or mammalian cell lines, and the α1 homomeric receptor is essential for studies of channel pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics.
Read more about this topic: Glycine Receptor
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