Abstract
THE process by which acetylcholine causes muscle to contract presumably includes an action of acetylcholine on a definite site. The exact nature of this site, whether it is a small molecule, or a protein or enzyme, or a membrane, is still unknown. Although it is still inexactly defined, this substance or structure has acquired the presumably synonymous names ‘cholinergic receptor’ and ‘acetylcholine receptor’1,2. This communication offers evidence that the receptor structure of smooth muscle includes a chemical grouping capable of being acetylated, and that this acetylation process is a part of the chain of events that leads to contraction.
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GEIGER, W., MANDEL, J. Quasi-Cholinergic Action of Acetylating Agents. Nature 196, 1106 (1962). https://doi.org/10.1038/1961106a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/1961106a0
