Loss Of Muscarinic Receptors Research Articles

The effects of chronic oxotermorine treatment on spatial learning and tolerance development in mice

C57Bl mice were treated with 0.5 mg/kg/hr oxotremorine through an implanted subcutaneous cannula for 6 days. Tolerance to oxotremorine was evaluated after treatment by constructing cumulative dose-response curve and measuring body temperature and rotarod performance. At 2 hr after removal, mice exhibited a 15-fold tolerance as measured and a 4-fold tolerance as measured by rotarod performance. This tolerance as measured by body temperature was lost by two days after removal from treatment. Immediately after treatment. 3H-QNB binding was reduced in cortex, hippocampus, midbrain, hindbrain, and hypothalamus. Receptors returned to normal within 4 to 8 days after cessation of treatment depending on the brain region. Spatial learning was examined using the Morris water task. Mice that began their training in this task 1 day after they were removd from oxotremorine treatment were impaired in their spatial ability as evidence by a lack of preference for the trained site during a probe trial. Mice that began their training 2 days after cessation of oxotremorine treatment showed no evidence of impairment in spatial learning. These results suggest that a loss of muscarinic receptors after oxotremorine treatment can be dissociated from tolerance loss and spatial learnign deficits.

Spatial memory impairment and central muscarinic receptor loss following prolonged treatment with organophosphates

Memory impairment is one of the recurrent complaints of agricultural workers repeatedly exposed to organophosphorus insecticides. In an effort to establish an animal model for such behavioral effects, which would allow studying its underlying biochemical mechanism(s), in this study we evaluated spatial memory in animals following repeated organophosphate exposure. Male Long-Evans rats were given daily i.p. injections of either diisopropylfluorophosphate (DFP; 1 mg/kg/day) or disulfoton ( O, O-diethyl S-[2-(ethylthio)ethyl] phosphorodithioate; 2 mg/kg/day) for 14 days. Acetylcholinesterase activity was inhibited 71–77% in the cortex, hippocampus, and striatum of rats treated with DFP, and 73–74% in those treated with disulfoton. Binding of [ 3H]quinuclidinyl benzilate ([ 3H]QNB) to cholinergic muscarinic receptors in the same brain areas was reduced 16–28% in organophosphate-treated rats. This decrease was due to a reduction in muscarinic receptor density ( B max ) with no changes in receptor affinity. At the end of the treatment rats were tested for spatial memory using the spontaneous alternation task in a T-maze. Rates of true spontaneous alternation were 64.4, 45.0, and 44.8% in animals which received corn oil, DFP, or disulfoton, respectively ( P<0.05). These results indicate that prolonged inhibition of acetylcholinesterase caused by repeated organophosphate exposure alters spatial memory functions in rats, as well as causing a loss of muscarinic receptors. Considering the role of the cholinergic system in cognitive processes, these biochemical alterations could be related to the observed behavioral changes and may offer a potential explanation of the memory impairment reported by workers chronically exposed to organophosphates.

Reversible and irreversible inhibition of rat brain muscarinic receptors is related to different substitutions on bisquaternary pyridinium oximes.

The role of the functional substituents on the pyridinium ring of bisquaternary pyridinium compounds, mostly oximes, in exerting reversible and irreversible inhibition of binding of [3H]-N-methyl-4-piperidyl benzilate [( 3H]-4NMPB) to rat brain stem muscarinic receptors was studied. The drugs tested, i.e. HGG-42, HGG-12, HGG-52, HI-6, obidoxim, SAD-128 and TMB-4, could reversibly inhibit binding of [3H]-4NMPB, with the highest potency (KI = 1.7 - 6 microM) exhibited by analogs possessing hydrophobic substituents at position 3 or 4 of the pyridinium ring. Bisquaternary drugs possessing an oxime moiety at position 2, but not at position 4 of the pyridinium ring, could also induce about 30% reduction of maximal binding capacity (Bmax) (loss of muscarinic receptors) in addition to their reversible effect. Thus the structural correlates of the reversible and the irreversible effects of these drugs are different.

Agonist-induced alteration in the membrane form of muscarinic cholinergic receptors.

Incubation of 1321N1 human astrocytoma cells with carbachol resulted in a rapid loss of binding of [3H]N-methylscopolamine ([3H]NMS) to muscarinic cholinergic receptors measured at 4 degrees C on intact cells; loss of muscarinic receptors in lysates from the same cells measured with [3H]quinuclidinyl benzilate [( 3H]QNB) at 37 degrees C occurred at a slower rate. Upon removal of agonist from the medium, the lost [3H]NMS binding sites measured on intact cells recovered with a t1/2 of approximately 20 min, but only to the level to which [3H]QNB binding sites had been lost; no recovery of "lost" [3H]QNB binding sites occurred over the same period. Based on these data and the arguments of Galper et al. (Galper, J. B., Dziekan, L. C., O'Hara, D. S., and Smith, T. W. (1982) J. Biol. Chem. 257, 10344-10356) regarding the relative hydrophilicity of [3H]NMS versus [3H]QNB, it is proposed that carbachol induces a rapid sequestration of muscarinic receptors that is followed by a loss of these receptors from the cell. These carbachol-induced changes are accompanied by a change in the membrane form of the muscarinic receptor. Although essentially all of the muscarinic receptors from control cells co-purified with the plasma membrane fraction on sucrose density gradients, 20-35% of the muscarinic receptors from cells treated for 30 min with 100 microM carbachol migrated to a much lower sucrose density. This conversion of muscarinic receptors to a "light vesicle" form occurred with a t1/2 approximately 10 min, and reversed with a t1/2 approximately 20 min. In contrast to previous results in this cell line regarding beta-adrenergic receptors (Harden, T. K., Cotton, C. U., Waldo, G. L., Lutton, J. K., and Perkins, J. P. (1980) Science 210, 441-443), agonist binding to muscarinic receptors in the light vesicle fraction obtained from carbachol-treated cells was still regulated by GTP. One interpretation of these data is that agonists induce an internalization of muscarinic receptors with the retention of their functional interaction with a guanine nucleotide regulatory protein.

Specific and non-specific desensitization of guinea-pig ileal smooth muscle.

The effects of cis-2-methyl-4-dimethylaminomethyl-1-3-dioxolane methiodide (CD), a muscarinic agonist, histamine, substance P and K+-stimulation on the mechanical responses, Ca2+-dependence and desensitization in guinea-pig ileal longitudinal smooth muscle have been studied. The mechanical responses to all four stimulants are highly dependent upon extracellular Ca2+(Ca2+EXT) and are blocked by the Ca2+ channel antagonist nicardipine. The tonic (slow) components of response are more dependent on Ca2+EXT and are more sensitive to nicardipine (IC50 values 5.0 X 10(-8) - 2.5 X 10(-9)M) than are the phasic (fast) components of response. Tissue exposure to CD (5 X 10(-7)M, 10 min) or histamine (3 X 10(-6)M and 3 X 10(-4)M, 10 min) produces short term nonspecific desensitization but substance P (5 X 10(-8)M, 10 min) produces only specific desensitization. K+-induced responses neither desensitize nor are desensitized. Desensitization is concentration- and time-dependent for both specific and nonspecific processes. Nonspecific desensitization is protected by elevation of K+ concentration (5.36mM) in the incubating medium, by dithiothreitol and by inhibitors (mepacrine,p-bromophenacyl bromide and phenylgloxal) of phospholipase A2 and is potentiated by mellitin, an activator of phospholipase A2. Desensitization produced by the muscarinic agonist CS is protected by Gpp(NH)p (10(-4)M), but histamine-induced desensitization is unaffected. There is no loss of muscarinic receptors, measured by [3H]QNB binding following tissue exposure to low concentrations of CD (5.0 X 10(-7)M) for up to 72 h. However, an apparent loss of receptors (20-30%) is measured following 10-90 min exposure of tissue to 10(-3)M CD. It is suggested that contractions of guinea-pig ileal longitudinal smooth muscle elicited by CD, histamine, substance P or K+ mobilize a common pool of Ca2+ through a Ca2+ channel antagonist (nicardipine) sensitive pathway. However, the existence of short term nonspecific desensitization (CD and histamine), specific desensitization (substance P) or no desensitization (K+ stimulation) indicates that significant differences exist in the pathways linking initial stimulus to mechanical response. The ability of elevated K+ to protect against nonspecific desensitization suggest that post stimulus membrane hyperpolarization may represent one contributing component to nonspecific desensitization. Products of phospholipid degradation may also contribute to desensitization since inhibitors or activators of phospholipase A2 prevented or potentiated respectively, nonspecific desensitization.

Regulation of the muscarinic acetylcholine receptor: effects of phosphorylating conditions on agonist and antagonist binding.

Incubation of rat brain synaptic membranes under phosphorylating conditions (i.e., in the presence of Mg2+, ATP, and cyclic AMP) leads to a loss in muscarinic acetylcholine receptors, detectable as specific binding of the muscarinic antagonist L-[3H]quinuclidinyl benzilate. A role for protein phosphorylation in this receptor loss is indicated by the finding that 5'-adenylyl imidodiphosphate, a nonhydrolysable analogue of ATP, does not support receptor loss. Furthermore, receptor loss is inhibited by adenosine and 2-deoxyadenosine, both of which inhibit protein kinase activity. The loss of muscarinic receptors is calmodulin dependent, and it has been demonstrated here that this requirement is probably at the level of calmodulin-dependent phosphorylation. An investigation of the effects of phosphorylation on the binding of the agonist carbachol to synaptic membranes from the cortex and cerebellum demonstrated that phosphorylation altered the relative proportions of the super-high-, high-, and low-affinity binding sites. The results were consistent with an apparent conversion of high- into super-high-affinity sites. In the presence of 5'-guanylyl imidodiphosphate, agonist binding demonstrated the properties expected of a population of largely low-affinity sites. This conversion of super-high- and high-affinity sites into low-affinity sites by 5'-guanylyl imidodiphosphate was partially inhibited by phosphorylation.

Agonist Regulation of Muscarinic Acetylcholine Receptors in Rat Spinal Cord

In vitro studies with cultured cells originating from nervous tissue have shown that chronic exposure to muscarinic agonists results in a loss of muscarinic receptors. To determine whether this type of regulation of muscarinic receptor number also occurs in vivo, we infused carbachol into the spinal cords of rats. A single carbachol injection into the lumbar spinal cord caused a significant increase in the nociceptive threshold. This effect of carbachol diminished to control levels after 12 h of repeated agonist injections every 4 h and was blocked by atropine. The desensitization to the antinociceptive effects of carbachol was associated with a loss of muscarinic receptors as determined by the binding of the muscarinic antagonist [3H]quinuclidinyl benzilate. After a 24-h exposure to carbachol given every 4h, there was about a 60% loss of binding sites. The loss of muscarinic receptors was also blocked by atropine and was reversible. These results represent direct evidence that a muscarinic agonist can regulate receptor number in the central nervous system and suggest that this loss of receptors is associated with a desensitization to the antinociceptive effects of carbachol injected into the spinal cord.

Neural regulation of muscarinic receptors in chick expansor secundariorum muscle.

We have recently observed the loss of muscarinic receptors from a smooth muscle of the chicken wing, the expansor secundariorum, during post-hatch development1. The nerve supplying the muscle has been shown to consist mainly of sympathetic fibres that, when stimulated, cause muscle contraction by the release of noradrenaline and subsequent activation of α-adrenoreceptors. Although no acetylcholine release has been detected in isolated nerve–muscle preparations2, the presence of a cholinergic input has not been clearly excluded. Kuromi and Hagihara2 observed that atropine was ineffective in blocking the nerve stimulation-induced contraction of the muscle, whereas phentolamine partly and guanethedine totally abolished the contraction. We have now examined the effect of denervation of the muscle 1 day after hatch on the binding of 3H-quinuclidinyl benzilate (3H-QNB), a radioligand for muscarinic receptors3,4. Our results indicate that the normal loss of muscarinic receptors from the expansor secundariorum is prevented by denervation. This observation is important as it demonstrates the regulation of a receptor population by a nerve supply that apparently does not release the corresponding transmitter.

Specificity of muscarinic acetylcholine receptor regulation by receptor activity.

Regulation of muscarinic acetylcholine receptor concentration by receptor activity in neuron-like NG108-15 hybrid cells is a highly specific process. Receptor levels, monitored by binding of [3H]quinuclidinyl benzilate ([3H]QNB), decreased 50--75% following 24-h incubation of cells with muscarinic agonists, but none of the following cellular processes was altered by this chronic receptor stimulation: (1) glycolytic energy metabolism, measured by [3H]deoxy-D-glucose ([3H]DG) uptake and retention; (2) rate of cell division; (3) transport, measured by [3H]valine and [3H]uridine uptake; (4) RNA biosynthesis, measured by [3H]uridine incorporation; (5) protein biosynthesis, measured by [3H]valine and [35S]methionine incorporation into total protein and into protein fractions obtained by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. In contrast, chronic stimulation did cause a threefold decrease in the capacity of carbachol to stimulate phosphatidylinositol (PI) turnover, a receptor-mediated response. In addition to cholinomimetics, the neuroeffector adenosine (1 mM for 24 h) also caused a decrease in [3H]QNB binding levels, but chronic stimulation of alpha-adrenergic, opiate, prostaglandin E1, and prostaglandin F2 alpha receptors found on NG108-15 cells caused no changes. The data indicate that loss of muscarinic receptors caused by receptor stimulation is not a consequence of fundamental changes evoked in overall cellular physiology but reflects a specific regulation of cholinoceptive cell responsiveness.

Axotomy causes loss of muscarinic receptors and loss of synaptic contacts in the hypoglossal nucleus.

MUSCARINIC receptors in the brain and ileum can be studied by means of the binding of radiolabelled cholinergic antagonists1,2. The basic criteria for receptor-specific labelling are that there should be a saturable component of binding and that the binding of the radiolabelled ligand should be inhibited by pharmacologically effective concentrations of drugs which are known to act at muscarinic receptors and not by drugs that act at different receptors. In addition, the saturable binding component should be restricted to tissues known from pharmacological experiments to contain muscarinic receptors. These criteria are satisfied by tritiated propylbenzilylcholine mustard (3H-PrBCM)3, a potent irreversible muscarinic antagonist the binding of which to rat brain sections can be demonstrated autoradiographically. The evidence which suggests that the bulk of tissue radioactivity is associated with muscarinic receptors is that in autoradiographs the regional variation of autoradiographic grain density parallels the intensity of specific 3H-PrBCM binding observed by in vitro assay on brain homogenates from selected regions, and that in the homogenates 65–85% of the bound radioactivity is blocked by pretreatment with the classical muscarinic antagonist, atropine (10−6M). In the forebrain the general features of the distribution of 3H-PrBCM binding to thin sections correspond closely with the findings of Kuhar and Yamamura4,5 who used the non-covalently bound antagonist 3H-3-quinuclidinylbenzilate. We report here, however, that in the brain stem the hypoglossal nuclei are heavily labelled with 3H-PrBCM. In light microscopic autoradiographs (Fig. 1a, left side) the grains are distributed throughout the neuropil of the hypoglossal nucleus. The cytoplasm and nuclei of the large hypoglossal neuronal somata (Fig. 1b) are unlabelled. The density of the silver grains falls abruptly at the borders of the hypoglossal neuropil. This clear demarcation of the labelled hypoglossal neuropil is abolished by atropine pretreatment (Fig. 1c).