Neurobiologist Jean-Pierre Changeux tells us the story of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor

Jean-Pierre Changeux, an eminent Institut Pasteur scientist, recently gave an interview in which he spoke about the discovery of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor, an ion channel-linked neuroreceptor. Looking back at this revolutionary discovery in the field of neuroscience is a good way for us to begin this special milestone year for the Institut Pasteur, which will celebrate its 130th anniversary on November 14, 2018. We can learn a lot by hearing what those behind groundbreaking discoveries have to tell us about their experiences.

Jean-Pierre Changeux published a paper on January 20, 2018 in Trends in Neuroscience providing an account of how this receptor's ion channel was structurally identified. In the 1970s, the scientist and his research team isolated the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor. Located in the synapses between neurons, this membrane receptor is involved in neuromuscular and motor transmission. It subsequently underwent several stages of identification before finally being described at atomic level, notably using molecular and structural biology methods.

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Picture: Schematic representation of a synapse (here is shown a neuromuscular junction). Acetylcholine or nicotine released into the synaptic cleft binds to the receptors carried by the muscle cell (green triangles), causing the ion channel to open. A chemical signal (acetylcholine binding) is converted into an electric signal (flow of sodium and potassium ions through the ion channel). It is the flow of ions that is recorded during an electric discharge from a Torpedo fish.