Collective binding properties of receptor arrays

Abstract

Binding kinetics of receptor arrays can differ dramatically from that of the isolated receptor. We simulate synaptic transmission using a microscopically accurate Brownian dynamics routine. We study the factors governing the rise and decay of the activation probability as a function of the number of transmitter molecules released. Using a realistic receptor array geometry, the simulation reproduces the time course of alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid receptor-mediated excitatory postsynaptic currents. A consistent interpretation of experimentally observed synaptic currents in terms of rebinding and spatial correlations is discussed.