ACH RECEPTOR CHANNELS INTERACTION WITH MW FIELDS

In previous works we studied the response of voltage-dependent ionic-channel gating to electromagnetic (EM) fields. We considered the channel to be a stochastic state-machine, flipping randomly from one state to another, and the incident EM field as a modifier of transitions among states. In this work we want to extend this approach to ligand-dependent channels, and specifically to acetylcholine (Ach) channels, since there is a good number of experimental results on which we could base our work. A five state model has been developed, starting from experimental data, both for the unexposed and for the exposed channel. The comparison between the two sets of parameters, and the observation of some interesting differences (for instance: the changes in mean dwell-times, in affinity, and efficacy of the ligand) have driven us to think that there is a straight effect of microwave fields on the receptor structure. A particular subunit, the delta one, of the receptor, seems to be the most probable site of interaction between EM fields and channels.