The Structure and Function of Neurotransmitter Receptors and Transporters: From Molecular Biology to Translational Research
A special issue of Biomolecules (ISSN 2218-273X). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Biology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2024 | Viewed by 29
Special Issue Editor
Interests: quantal release of neurotransmitters through electrophysiological recording and signal processing; the activity of neurotransporters through the analysis of the the currents generated by charge movements in the transporter molecule
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Transmembrane proteins are essential to perform two main functions for the cell: (i) preserving cellular homoeostasis by handling the translocation of relevant molecules, and (ii) detecting extracellular factors or signaling molecules and initiating appropriate intracellular responses. Neurotransmitter receptors and transporters are among the most relevant instances of this category of molecules. The first molecular structures of membrane proteins were reported in the 1980s; since then, the number of clarified structures has been growing exponentially. In the meantime, the patch clamp technique (developed in the late 1970s) has made it possible to study the functional properties of receptors and transporters and monitor the conformational changes of single molecules in real time. An ever-growing number of neurotransmitter receptor and transporter types and subgroups have been identified, pharmacologically characterized, and sequenced; polymorphisms and mutations have been spotted and characterized; and molecular dynamic studies have elucidated the details of drug interaction with these vital proteins. Altogether, a wide field of neurobiology and medicine has been generated that certainly deserves to be targeted by a collection of up-to-date contributions.
Prof. Dr. Riccardo Fesce
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- neurotransmitters
- receptors
- neurotransporters
- structure–function relationship
- neuropharmacology
