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The nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) and the acetylcholine binding protein (AChBP) are pentameric oligomers in which binding sites for nicotinic agonists and competitive antagonists are found at selected subunit interfaces. The nAChR spontaneously exists in multiple conformations associated with its activation and desensitization steps, and conformations are selectively stabilized by binding of agonists and antagonists. In the nAChR, agonist binding and the associated conformational changes accompanying activation and desensitization are cooperative. AChBP, which lacks the transmembrane spanning and cytoplasmic domains, serves as a homology model of the extracellular domain of the nAChRs. We identified unique cooperative binding behavior of a number of 4,6-disubstituted 2-aminopyrimidines to Lymnaea AChBP, with different molecular variants exhibiting positive, nH > 1.0, and negative cooperativity, nH < 1.0. Therefore, for a distinctive set of ligands, the extracellular domain of a nAChR surrogate suffices to accommodate cooperative interactions. X-ray crystal structures of AChBP complexes with examples of each allowed the identification of structural features in the ligands that confer differences in cooperative behavior. Both sets of molecules bind at the agonist-antagonist site, as expected from their competition with epibatidine. An analysis of AChBP quaternary structure shows that cooperative ligand binding is associated with a blooming or flare conformation, a structural change not observed with the classical, noncooperative, nicotinic ligands. Positively and negatively cooperative ligands exhibited unique features in the detailed binding determinants and poses of the complexes.

Memory formation requires the placement of experienced events in the same order in which they appeared. A large body of evidence from human studies indicates that structures in the medial temporal lobe are critically involved in forming and maintaining such memories, and complementing evidence from lesion and electrophysiological work in animals support these findings. However, it remains unclear how single cells and networks of cells can signal this temporal relationship between events. Here we used recordings from single cells in the human brain obtained while subjects viewed repeated presentations of cinematic episodes. We found that neuronal activity in successive time segments became gradually correlated, and, as a result, activity in a given time window became a faithful predictor of the activity to follow. This correlation emerged rapidly, within two to three presentations of an episode and exceeded both context-independent and pure stimulus-driven correlations. The correlation was specific for hippocampal neurons, did not occur in the amygdala and anterior cingulate cortex, and was found for single cells, cell pairs, and triplets of cells, supporting the notion that cell assemblies code for the temporal relationships between sensory events. Importantly, this neuronal measure of temporal binding successfully predicted subjects' ability to recall and verbally report the viewed episodes later. Our findings suggest a neuronal substrate for the formation of memory of the temporal order of events.

Acetylcholine-binding proteins (AChBPs) from mollusks are suitable structural and functional surrogates of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptors when combined with transmembrane spans of the nicotinic receptor. These proteins assemble as a pentamer with identical ACh binding sites at the subunit interfaces and show ligand specificities resembling those of the nicotinic receptor for agonists and antagonists. A subset of ligands, termed the neonicotinoids, exhibit specificity for insect nicotinic receptors and selective toxicity as insecticides. AChBPs are of neither mammalian nor insect origin and exhibit a distinctive pattern of selectivity for the neonicotinoid ligands. We define here the binding orientation and determinants of differential molecular recognition for the neonicotinoids and classical nicotinoids by estimates of kinetic and equilibrium binding parameters and crystallographic analysis. Neonicotinoid complex formation is rapid and accompanied by quenching of the AChBP tryptophan fluorescence. Comparisons of the neonicotinoids imidacloprid and thiacloprid in the binding site from Aplysia californica AChBP at 2.48 and 1.94 A in resolution reveal a single conformation of the bound ligands with four of the five sites occupied in the pentameric crystal structure. The neonicotinoid electronegative pharmacophore is nestled in an inverted direction compared with the nicotinoid cationic functionality at the subunit interfacial binding pocket. Characteristic of several agonists, loop C largely envelops the ligand, positioning aromatic side chains to interact optimally with conjugated and hydrophobic regions of the neonicotinoid. This template defines the association of interacting amino acids and their energetic contributions to the distinctive interactions of neonicotinoids.

Radiation damage is an inherent problem in x-ray crystallography. It usually is presumed to be nonspecific and manifested as a gradual decay in the overall quality of data obtained for a given crystal as data collection proceeds. Based on third-generation synchrotron x-ray data, collected at cryogenic temperatures, we show for the enzymes Torpedo californica acetylcholinesterase and hen egg white lysozyme that synchrotron radiation also can cause highly specific damage. Disulfide bridges break, and carboxyl groups of acidic residues lose their definition. Highly exposed carboxyls, and those in the active site of both enzymes, appear particularly susceptible. The catalytic triad residue, His-440, in acetylcholinesterase, also appears to be much more sensitive to radiation damage than other histidine residues. Our findings have direct practical implications for routine x-ray data collection at high-energy synchrotron sources. Furthermore, they provide a direct approach for studying the radiation chemistry of proteins and nucleic acids at a detailed, structural level and also may yield information concerning putative "weak links" in a given biological macromolecule, which may be of structural and functional significance.