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Medical Definition of Nicotinic acetylcholine receptor
1. Integral membrane protein of the postsynaptic membrane to which acetylcholine binds. The receptor contains an integral ion channel, as a result of binding of acetylcholine, ion channels in the subsynaptic membrane are opened. at the neuromuscular junction, the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor initiates muscle contraction. Currently the best characterised ion channel protein: made of a hetero pentamer of related subunits, although a homo pentamer is functional in insects. Structural studies show that the acetylcholine binding site and the ionic channel are part of the same macromolecular unit. The nAChR mediates rapid transduction events (1ms) whereas receptors activating G-protein coupled channels operate on slower time scales (millisecond to second range). This entry appears with permission from the Dictionary of Cell and Molecular Biology (11 Mar 2008)
Lexicographical Neighbors of Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor
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