Binding cholinergic ligands

After binding of ligands, many neurotransmitter receptors (e.g., the dopamine, adrenergic, GABAb, metabotropic glutamate, and muscarinic cholinergic receptors)... 

R.A., 1999a. Synthesis, receptor binding and QSAR studies on 6-substituted nicotine derivatives as cholinergic ligands. Eur. J. Med. Chem. 34, 31-40. 

The techniques used include equilibrium dialysis [11] and fluorescence procedures [12]. Another method is based on the observation that the rate of binding of a-bungarotoxin (aBgt) to the receptor is affected by cholinergic ligands [13] and permits rapid estimation of the receptor affinities of a wide spectrum of nonradioactive, nondialyzable drugs. 

Burgermeister, W., W. L. Klein, M. Nirenberg, and B. Witkop Comparative binding studies with cholinergic ligands and histrionicotoxin at muscarinic receptors of neural cell lines. Mol. Pharmacol. 14, 751—767 (1978). 

Acetylcholine (ACh) is an example of an endogenous neurotransmitter that binds to more than one receptor type, the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) which preferentially binds nicotine and the muscarinic receptor which binds muscarine, a mushroom alkaloid. The latter is a G protein-coupled receptor while the nACh receptor is an excitatory ligand-gated ion channel that transports Na-i- ions. Nicotinic cholinergic receptors are found in the CNS, autonomic ganglia, and at the neuromuscular junction of skeletal muscles. They are a possible target for anaesthetics. 

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