Gundelfinger E D
ZMNH, Center for Molecular Neurobiology, University of Hamburg, FRG.
Trends Neurosci. 1992 Jun;15(6):206-11. doi: 10.1016/0166-2236(92)90035-7.
In insects, nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) are confined to the nervous system. It is a long-standing open question whether the insect nicotinic cholinergic receptor system is less complex than that of the vertebrate nervous system. Simplicity can be conceived in two ways. (1) Fewer receptor subtypes may exist. (2) Single receptors may have a more primitive (homo-oligomeric) quaternary structure. Recent approaches to the molecular cloning of insect nAChRs may contribute valuable new information to this issue. Thus, the identification of multiple genes encoding proteins similar to vertebrate nAChR subunits implicates a remarkable heterogeneity for these receptors. The discovery of putatively non-ligand-binding subunits hints to the existence of vertebrate-like hetero-oligomeric nAChRs. However, the simultaneous occurrence of homo-oligomeric receptors must still be considered.
在昆虫中，烟碱型乙酰胆碱受体（nAChRs）仅存在于神经系统中。昆虫烟碱型胆碱能受体系统是否比脊椎动物神经系统的受体系统更简单，这是一个长期存在的悬而未决的问题。简单性可以从两个方面来理解。（1）可能存在较少的受体亚型。（2）单个受体可能具有更原始的（同聚体）四级结构。最近对昆虫nAChRs进行分子克隆的方法可能会为这个问题提供有价值的新信息。因此，鉴定出多个编码与脊椎动物nAChR亚基相似蛋白质的基因，意味着这些受体具有显著的异质性。推测的非配体结合亚基的发现暗示了类似脊椎动物的异聚体nAChRs的存在。然而，同聚体受体的同时存在仍需考虑。
