Measurement of function and regulation of muscarinic acetylcholine receptors

Abstract

The G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) including the muscarinic acetylcholine receptors (mAChRs) constitute a family of seven transmembrane spanning proteins. These proteins respond to an array of sensory and chemical stimuli, e.g. light, hormones, and neurotransmitters. The receptors transmit extracellular stimuli into the cell interior via stimulation of heterotrimeric guanine nucleotide binding proteins (G proteins). GPCR activation represents a co-ordinated balance of molecular mechanisms governing receptor signalling, desensitization, and resensitization (Ferguson, 2001). Five distinct mAChR subtypes (M1-M5) have been identified in different mammalian tissues with different expression patterns and each receptor subtype being the product of one of the five different genes (Bonner, 1989). © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2005.