This workshop was the second of this series held on the island of santorini in the Cycladic Sea. The first one ("Mechanism of Action of the Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor", NATO ASI Se­ ries H, vol. 10) took place in May 1986 and focused on what was at the time the best studied of all neuroreceptors. This second one, held only two years later, demonstrates the im­ mense progress achieved since then in the field of neurorecep­ tors and ion channels. Molecular cloning techniques have now made available the primary structures of a whole array of ion channel proteins, and this in turn has shed light on some gen­ eral principles of the structure-function relationships of these central elements of intercellular communication. The purpose of this workshop was to explore the common ele­ ments in gene and protein structure of already cloned ion channel proteins, and to assess the status of other cloning projects in progress. It explicitly focused on very recently published and unpublished results. All participants kept to these goals thereby demonstrating the very value of such work­ shops for the progress of science.

Inhalt

I. Introduction.- Common Structural Principles of Ion Channel Proteins.- II. Molecular Biology of Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors.- Brain and Muscle Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors: A Gene Family.- The Gene Family Encoding Neuronal Acetylcholine Receptors: Structure of the Avian Alpha2 and Alpha3 Genes.- Structure of Muscle and Neuronal Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors.- Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors in the Nervous System of Insects.- Ligand-Gated Ion Channels of Drosophila.- III. Molecular Biology of Aminoacid Receptors.- The Structure and Expression of the GABAA Receptor as Deduced by Molecular Genetic Studies.- GABAA Receptor: Subunit Expression in Xenopus Oocytes and Localization of Receptor mRNAs in Rat Brain.- Molecular Heterogeneity of GABAA-Benzodiazepine Receptors.- The Postsynaptic Glycine Receptor - a Member of the Neurotransmitter-Gated Channel Protein Family.- Immunological Identification of a Neonatal Glycine Receptor Isotype and Its Expression in Primary Cultures of Spinal Cord.- Glycine Receptor Regulation in Rodent Spinal Cord.- Expression-Cloning and Analysis of the Serotonin 1c Receptor from Mouse Brain.- Cloned Serotonin 5HT-2 Receptor: Structure and Second Messenger Coupling.- An Apparent New L-Glutamate Receptor in the Mammalian-Peripheral Nervous System.- IV. Molecular Biology of Voltage-Gated Ion Channels.- Molecular Properties of Voltage-Sensitive Sodium and Calcium Channels.- Genetic and Molecular Analysis of a Gene Encoding Sodium Channels in Drosophila.- A Family of Potassium Channels from the Shaker Locus of Drosophila.- Molecular Basis of Biological Diversity at the Shaker Locus of Drosophila.- V. Molecular Biology of Other Neuroreceptors and Ion Channels.- Common Properties of Receptors Coupled to GTP Binding Regulatory Proteins.- Cloning of a Rat D2-Dopamine Receptor cDNA.- Molecular Characterization of Neuropeptide Receptors and of a Novel Membrane Protein Involved in K+ Permeation.- A 64 kDa Protein is a Candidate for a TRH Receptor in Prolactin-Producing Rat Pituitary Tumour Cells.- Comparison of the Presynaptic Vesicle Component Synaptophysin and GAP Junction Proteins: A Clue for Neurotransmitter Release?.- VI. Structure-Function Relationships of Ion Channel Proteins.- Use of Synthetic Peptides and High Affinity Protein Ligands for Structural Studies of Central and Peripheral Nicotinic Receptors.- Functional Domains of the Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor.- The Limited Sequence Specificity of Anti-Peptide Antibodies May Introduce Ambiguity in Topological Studies.- Structure, Conformation and Immunological Analysis of peptide 188-201, the Putative Binding Site for a-Bungarotoxin in the a Subunit of Acetylcholine Receptor.- Towards an Understanding and Use of the Cholinergic Binding Site.- Evidence for Multipoint Attachment of Ligands to the Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor.- Fine Structural Characterization of the Main Immunogenic Region of the Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor.- Phosphorylation of the Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor and Localization of its Phosphorylation Sites.- A New Bromobimane Fluorescent Label for Anion Exchange Proteins.- Changes in Membrane Phosphoproteins Associated with the ATP Modulation of the Delayed Rectifier K+ Channel in the Squid Giant Axon.- Channel Modelling Experiments in Planar Bilayers Using Amphiphilic Helical Polypeptides.- Structural and Dynamic Molecular Models for Sodium Channels.- VI. Gene Expression, Gene Regulation and Development.- Processing, Assembly, and Ligand Binding of the Mouse Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor Subunits in Stably Transfected Fibroblasts.- Assembly and Insertion of a Multi-Subunit Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor into Plasma Membranes.- Stable Expression of Multisubunit Protein Complexes in Mammalian Cells.- Regulation of Acetylcholine Receptor Gene Expression During Development of the Neuromuscular Junction.- Developmental Regulation of Acetylcholine Receptor-Subunit mRNA at the Rat Neuromuscular Junction.- Myotube Specific Expression of the Mouse AChR Delta Subunit Gene is Conferred by 148 BP of 5? Flanking DNA.- Transcriptional Regulation of Acetylcholine Receptor Genes in Transfected Muscle Cells and Transgenic Mice.- The Intermediate Lobe of the Pituitary: A Model for Studying Mechanisms of Trans-Synaptic Regulation of Specific Gene Expression.- Positive Modulators of Acetylcholine Receptor: Differences Between Skeletal Muscle and Electric Organ.- Localisation of Muscarinic Acetylcholine Receptors in Cat Visual Cortex during Postnatal Development.- Regulation of Cortical Muscarinic Acetylcholine Receptors: Involvement of Potassium Channels.- Regulation of Calcium Channels and Adenylate Cyclase by Opiates.- Transdifferentiation to a Neuronal Phenotype in Adult Bovine Chromaffin Cells: Effects of ?MSH, ?FGF and Histamine.- VII. Clinical Aspects.- Molecular Biology of Neuroreceptors: Implications for Clinical Neuroscience.- Authors Index.