Blum_2011_J.Biol.Chem_286_32251

The defining feature of the alpha subunits of the family of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors is a vicinal disulfide between Cys-192 and Cys-193. Although this structure has played a pivotal role in a number of pioneering studies of nicotinic receptors, its functional role in native receptors remains uncertain. Using mutant cycle analysis and unnatural residue mutagenesis, including backbone mutagenesis of the peptide bond of the vicinal disulfide, we have established the presence of a network of hydrogen bonds that extends from that peptide NH, across a beta turn to another backbone hydrogen bond, and then across the subunit interface to the side chain of a functionally important Asp residue in the non-alpha subunit. We propose that the role of the vicinal disulfide is to distort the beta turn and thereby properly position a backbone NH for intersubunit hydrogen bonding to the key Asp.