The Chemical Anatomy of Synaptic Mechanisms: Receptors

Publisher Summary This chapter presents an overview of chemical anatomy of synaptic mechanisms. The chemical nature of the receptor sites for transmitters is one of the most interesting problems of molecular biology. Certain portions of the membrane of neurons and muscle cells are specialized so that they can bind transmitters, with the result that the ionic permeability of the cell membrane becomes altered. If the transmission of sodium ions is enhanced, the membrane becomes depolarized; if potassium or chloride ions are involved, the membrane becomes hyperpolarized and inhibition results. The chapter explains the possible molecular complexes involved in receptors. One difficulty in constructing hypotheses about the possible molecular nature of the receptor knows where to start. One way is to itemize all the possibilities and then develop the most promising of these. The problem can be approached by asking what type of electrostatic bond proteins can get involved in.