The Cys-loop ligand-gated ion channel superfamily is composed of nicotinic acetylcholine, GABAA, GABAA-ρ, glycine and 5-HT3 receptors that are composed of five protein subunits that form a pentameric arrangement around a central pore. There are usually 2 alpha subunits and 3 other beta, gamma, or delta subunits (some consist of 5 alpha subunits). The name "Cys-loop" is because this type of receptors possess a characteristic loop formed by 13 highly conserved amino acids between two cysteine (Cys) residues which form a disulfide bond, near the N-terminal extracellular domain of the alpha subunit.