TL;DR
If you work in the fields of neuroscience, ion channels, receptor biology, structural biology, molecular biology or similar, and/or have an interest in ion channels/nicotinic receptors (or know someone who does), could you please help us with testing our database/webtool and fill out this short survey?
What is it all about?
NAChRDB is an interactive database of nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) functional annotations mapped onto cryo-EM 3D structures.
https://crocodile.ncbr.muni.cz/Apps/NAChRDB/
What are the nAChRs?
The nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) are the evolutionary ancient allosteric membrane proteins mediating the synaptic transmission. These prototypic members of the near-ubiquitous superfamily of pentameric ligand-gated ion-channels are involved in many physiological processes (from learning to motor control), neurological diseases (Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, schizophrenia, epilepsy), and addictions (alcohol, tobacco).
Why NAChRDB is useful?
NAChRDB provides fast access to, interactive visualization & analysis of annotations in their structural context so that you do not have to dig through hundreds of scientific articles to find out what a certain amino acid residue is responsible for (e.g. forms a binding site for a particular drug). Besides, NAChRDB can provide the users with a prediction of residues potentially relevant for the allosteric regulation of nAChRs, based on the analysis of partial atomic charges and channel lining profiles.
Why do we need users' feedback?
We aim to make NAChRDB maximally useful for the research community. We are keen to add new stuff to NAChRDB to help the researchers in their research work with nAChRs. That is why we would like to ask what our users are missing. What functionality you found useful? What functionality you would like to have there? Is NAChRDB easy-to-use and understandable? Are the case studies and tutorial helpful?
Interested to learn more about nAChRs and NAChRDB?
Feel free to post your questions here! You can also read more about this topic in our bioRxiv pre-print.
Or, if you prefer popular scientific genre, you could try out our popular article.
Lastly, if you think there is something we could collaborate on, please feel free to contact me and we will talk about it in detail.