Abstract
IN spite of the simplicity of its chemical structure, details of the mode of action of acetylcholine (ACh) remain unknown. We have considered stereochemical attachment of ACh at its nicotinic and its muscarinic receptor sites, and compared these two stereochemical attachments. A logical working hypothesis, proposed by many in the past (and so far not proved), is that the flexible ACh molecule assumes different conformations and hence different molecular shapes and different interatomic distances at the nicotinic and muscarinic receptors. These conformations are imposed on the ACh molecule by the chemical and the steric nature of the receptor area.
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ARMSTRONG, P., CANNON, J. & LONG, J. Conformationally Rigid Analogues of Acetylcholine. Nature 220, 65–66 (1968). https://doi.org/10.1038/220065a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/220065a0
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