Clustering and Interactions of Ionotropic Receptors – Processes, Mechanisms, Basis of Plasticity
摘要
The mechanisms of the emergence, existence, and functioning of receptor clusters formed on the surfaces of nerve cells are considered. Both experimental data and model concepts describing and explaining these processes are presented. The roles of cholesterol, extracellular proteins, and the perimembrane cytoskeleton in the formation and maintenance of the structure of receptor clusters is discussed. In the cases of ionotropic glutamate and acetylcholine receptors, the possibility of increasing the sensitivity of neurons to mediators due to cooperative activation, when closely located receptors and channels of the same cluster influence each other’s activity, is considered.