Desensitization of nicotine acetylcholine receptors: Modulation by kinase activation and phosphatase inhibition

William Marszalec, Jay Z. Yeh, Toshio Narahashi*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

21 Scopus citations

Abstract

The desensitization of α-bungarotoxin-insensitive native neuronal nicotinic receptors was studied in rat cortical cell cultures using the patch clamp technique. Thirty-minute perfusions of nicotine reduced currents evoked by short test pulses of 300 μM acetylcholine over a range of 3 to 300 nM, with an IC50 of 51 nM. The time course of desensitization onset was fit by a biexponential function consisting of a fast time constant of about 1 min and a slower component of 6-10 min. The desensitization recovery process was also biexponential and was dominated by a slow time constant of 12-20 min, as well as a minor component of about 1 min. The intracellular dialysis of either the protein kinase C activator phorbol-12-myristate-13 acetate or the phosphatase inhibitor cyclosporin A accelerated the desensitization recovery rate by 2-fold. The data imply that endogenous cortical nicotinic receptor channels may enter one of two desensitization states. The first state (D1) is characterized by rapid entry and recovery, whereas transitions into and out of the second state (D2) occur at slower rates. The D2 receptor state may arise by a sequential transition from the D1 conformation. Protein kinase C activation or phosphatase 2B inhibition may favor the D1 receptor state over that of D2 to promote faster overall rates of desensitization recovery.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)83-90
Number of pages8
JournalEuropean Journal of Pharmacology
Volume514
Issue number2-3
DOIs
StatePublished - May 9 2005

Funding

We thank Nayla Hasan for her preparation and maintenance of the cortical cell cultures used in this study and Julia Irizarry for secretarial assistance. This work was supported by a National Institutes of Health Grant AA07836.

Keywords

  • Acetylcholine
  • Desensitization
  • Nicotine
  • Nicotinic receptor
  • Phosphorylation
  • Smoking

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Pharmacology

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