Postsynaptic potentiation and desensitization in frog neuromuscular junction

1988 ◽  
Vol 66 (5) ◽  
pp. 624-629 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. I. Glavinqvić

The fractional increase in ACh responses that occurs at the beginning of each train of iontophoretically applied ACh pulses has been examined at the frog neuromuscular junction at room temperature, in the presence of active cholinesterase, during desensitization produced by a rapid sequence (every 20 s) of short (5 Hz, 5 s) iontophoretic trains of ACh. The fractional increase in ACh responses, which is used as an indicator of postsynaptic potentiation, becomes progressively greater with ACh application, often markedly (>100%), although ACh responses are greatly reduced (as much as 90%) owing to desensitization. Clearly postsynaptic potentiation can exist concomitantly with desensitization. In addition, the dose–response curve is shifted to the right and its maximal response is diminished. The shift in the dose–response curve to the right, which can explain greater postsynaptic potentiation, is unlikely to be caused by accumulation of "monoligand-bound ACh receptor complexes," since experiments were done with active cholinesterase. The shift probably results from a greater number of desensitized receptors which, because of their large affinity for ACh molecules, serve as "high affinity traps." A small decrease of the maximal dose–response suggests only a small fractional decrease in the number of activable receptors, whereas a large shift to the right indicates a large fractional increase in the number of desensitized receptors. It appears that prior to ACh application only a small fraction of all receptors are desensitized. Alternatively, the shift to the right occurs because the cooperative action of ACh on receptors increases during desensitization.

1982 ◽  
Vol 47 (03) ◽  
pp. 278-284 ◽  
Author(s):  
T J Hallam ◽  
P A Ruggles ◽  
M C Scrutton ◽  
R B Wallis

Summary1. Exposure of human and rabbit blood platelets to all full agonists tested induces agonist-specific (or homologous) desensitisation except in the case of adrenaline and collagen in human platelets.2. Desensitisation to vasopressin and 5-hydroxytryptamine (5HT) develops rapidly and results from suppression of maximal responsiveness without significant shift in the dose/response curve (Type I). In rabbit platelets, maintenance of desensitisation to 5HT is correlated with the extracellular 5HT concentration. Responsiveness to other agonists is either unaffected, or is enhanced due to a shift in the dose/response curve to the left without change in maximal responsiveness.3. Homologous desensitisation to ADP, U-46619 and thrombin develops more slowly, is correlated with disaggregation and is associated with a shift in the dose/response curve to the right without suppression of maximal responsiveness (Type II). Responsiveness to most other agonists is either unaffected, or is enhanced due to a shift in the dose/response curve to the left without a change in maximal responsiveness. However, exposure to thrombin suppresses the maximal response to vasopressin without a shift in the dose/response curve, and exposure to U-46619 causes a shift in the dose/response curve for collagen to the right.4. In human platelets prolonged exposure to 5HT causes agonist non-specific (or heterologous) desensitisation in which responsiveness to all agonists except adrenaline is suppressed as a result of shifts in the dose/response curves to the right.5. We propose that Types I and II homologous desensitisation result respectively from prolonged receptor occupancy and from either activation of degradative mechanisms for the agonist or processing of the receptor to a lower affinity state.


1988 ◽  
Vol 97 (4) ◽  
pp. 409-413 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hsing-Won Wang ◽  
Richard T. Jackson

The effects of lidocaine and procaine on contractile responses of isolated canine nasal mucosal blood vessels to field stimulation and methoxamine were investigated. Analysis of cumulative dose-response curves showed that the two local anesthetics antagonized methoxamine and inhibited the field-stimulation response. The latter effect was interpreted as due to the blockade of Na+channels. This would inhibit nerve conduction induced by field stimulation. The former effect on methoxamine is probably caused by the effect of these anesthetics on the mobilization of Ca++ needed for smooth muscle contraction. Preincubation of the nasal mucosa with low doses of procaine or lidocaine shifts the methoxamine dose-response curve to the right. With higher doses, the maximal response is also reduced. The shift of the dose-response curve showed that procaine or lidocaine can change the α-adrenergic receptor affinity. Commercial 1% lidocaine with 1:100,000 epinephrine also inhibits field stimulation and antagonizes methoxamine contractions. Lidocaine can increase the basal tone of nasal mucosa, while procaine cannot. From these results, we conclude that procaine and lidocaine have common mechanisms in blocking Na+ channels but differ in their ability to modify Ca++ stores or channels.


1987 ◽  
Vol 252 (4) ◽  
pp. E485-E491 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Chartier ◽  
E. L. Schiffrin

Atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) inhibits the stimulation of aldosterone secretion by isolated adrenal glomerulosa cells produced by angiotensin II (ANG II), ACTH, and potassium. The effect of ANP on the dose-response curve of aldosterone stimulated by ANG II, ACTH, and potassium on isolated rat adrenal glomerulosa cells was studied. In the presence of ANP the maximal response of aldosterone output stimulated by ANG II or potassium decreased and the half-maximum (EC50) of the response to ACTH was displaced to the right. Because these effects resemble those of calcium-channel blockers, we investigated the effect of different concentrations of nifedipine, a dihydropyridine calcium-channel blocker, on the dose-response curve of aldosterone stimulated by ANG II, ACTH, and potassium. Nifedipine produced effects similar to ANP. The maximal response of aldosterone stimulated by ANG II and potassium was decreased and the dose-response curve to ACTH was displaced to the right. ANP decreased the maximal response of aldosterone to the dihydropyridine derivative BAY K8644, a calcium-channel "activator," without change in its EC50. In contrast, nifedipine displaced the dose-response curve to BAY K8644 to the right as expected of a competitive inhibitor. The effect of ANP and nifedipine on basal and stimulated 45Ca influx into isolated rat adrenal glomerulosa cells was studied. Basal calcium influx was not significantly affected by ANP or nifedipine. Angiotensin II-, ACTH-, potassium-, and BAY K8644-stimulated calcium influx were significantly decreased by 1 nM ANP or 30 microM nifedipine. ANP may act on the rat adrenal glomerulosa cells at least in part by interference with calcium entry.


1979 ◽  
Vol 57 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-40 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. C. Cunnane ◽  
H. Zinner ◽  
D. F. Horrobin ◽  
M. S. Manku ◽  
R. O. Morgan ◽  
...  

Low concentrations of copper inhibited responses to norepinephrine and angiotensin (IC50 3 × 10−6 M) but not to potassium in rat mesenteric vascular preparations perfused either with buffer or indomethacin and prostaglandin (PGE2). The dose–response curve was not shifted by indomethacin, imidazole, or PGE2 but was moved to the right by 2.8 × 10−11 M PGE1 and to the left by 2.8 × 10−7 M PGE1. These effects of copper are similar to the effects of PGI2 in the preparation. Copper moved the PGI2 dose–response curve against noradrenaline in parallel to the left, suggesting that the two were interacting at some point. Penicillamine, which may stimulate PGE1 synthesis, had PGE1-like interactions with the copper effect, suggesting that its value in Wilson's disease may be partly due to antagonism of the biological action of copper as well as to its copper-chelating properties.


1983 ◽  
Vol 244 (5) ◽  
pp. R635-R640 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. A. Campfield ◽  
F. J. Smith

Recent studies suggest that alterations in autonomic neural activity may mediate the obese state observed following ventromedial hypothalamic (VMH) lesion. To assess the role of these alterations in the increased glucose responsiveness of the beta-cell observed in this state, we have determined the sensitivity of insulin secretion to norepinephrine or/and acetylcholine in statically incubated pancreatic islets from rats 30-40 days after VMH lesion. In islets from VMH-lesioned rats compared with islets from sham-operated and intact rats, the acetylcholine dose-response curve was shifted down and to the right, indicating a decreased sensitivity, whereas the norepinephrine dose-response curve was translated to the left, indicating an increased sensitivity. The interaction profile, which summarizes combined neurotransmitter exposure on insulin secretion, was shifted in the direction of net inhibition. Thus it was concluded that, following VMH lesion, autonomic neurotransmitter sensitivity of the pancreatic beta-cell was altered. It is suggested that these alterations play a role in the adaptation of the beta-cell to the experimentally induced obese state.


1991 ◽  
Vol 261 (2) ◽  
pp. L164-L171 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. A. Wetmore ◽  
N. P. Gerard ◽  
D. K. Herron ◽  
N. G. Bollinger ◽  
S. R. Baker ◽  
...  

Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO)-differentiated U-937 cells develop cell surface receptors for leukotrienes that, when stimulated, initiate a transient increase in intracellular calcium concentration [( Ca2+]i). We investigated the calcium transient that occurs after addition of leukotriene C4 (LTC4) to determine whether it occurs due to 1) the bioconversion of LTC4 to leukotriene D4 (LTD4), which then acts at the LTD4 receptor; 2) the direct action of LTC4 at the LTD4 receptor; or 3) the action of LTC4 at a receptor selective for LTC4. Bioconversion of [3H]LTC4 to [3H]LTD4 was inhibited by 98% when DMSO-differentiated U-937 cells were incubated with 10 mM AT-125 compared with control cells. The dose-response curve for LTC4, with [Ca2+]i as the index of response, was parallel to that for LTD4 but was significantly (P less than 0.0001) shifted 1.6 +/- 0.11 log units to the right. AT-125 did not change the response to LTD4 but the LTC4 dose-response curve was shifted on additional 1.7 logo units to the right. The antagonists SKF 104353 (1 microM) and LY 171883 (10 microM) shifted the dose-response curve for LTD4 3.0 +/- 0.23 and 2.5 +/- 0.23 log units, respectively, to the right and completely inhibited the change in [Ca2+]i due to LTC4 in the presence of 10 mM AT-125. Molecular modeling studies demonstrated a striking difference in the spatial configuration of LTC4 and LTD4, likely accounting for the ability of cell surface receptors to discriminate between the effects of these two molecules.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


1985 ◽  
Vol 109 (4) ◽  
pp. 505-510 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. A. Ealey ◽  
N.J. Marshall ◽  
R. P. Ekins

Abstract. Subsequent to the discovery of vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) in the thyroid gland, VIP has been shown to stimulate various thyroid functions. The site of interaction of VIP with the thyroid follicular cell is at present not known, and this study has used the ultrasensitive cytochemical bioassay (CBA) for thyroid stimulators to investigate this further. Exposure of thyroid sections for 3 min to VIP resulted in increased naphthylamidase activity, with half-maximal response observed at 3 × 10−13 m VIP. This response to such low doses of VIP is consistent with the CBA being ultrasensitive to other thyroid stimulators e.g. TSH, thyroid stimulating antibodies and forskolin. The response to VIP was abolished by rabbit anti-VIP antiserum. The dose-response curve to VIP was bell-shaped (as with the other stimulators), maximal stimulation occurring at 10−12 m VIP. In contrast, however, to other thyroid stimulators, namely TSH, LATS-B and 3 monoclonal stimulating antibodies, whose ascending limbs of the doseresponse curves extended over 3-4 orders of magnitude, the VIP curve rose rapidly from basal to maximal tissue stimulation from 10−13 to 10−12m VIP, i.e. one order of magnitude. This unusual dose-response curve to VIP was parallel to that produced by forskolin. 11E8, a monoclonal 'blocking' antibody which is a potent inhibitor of TSH stimulation, did not 'block' forskolin stimulation, consistent with the belief that forskolin acts at a post-receptor site. However, unlike forskolin, VIP was inhibited by monoclonal 11E8, which may imply a hitherto unexpected involvement of the TSH receptor in VIP stimulation of the thyroid or, alternatively, steric inhibition by 11E8 when bound to the TSH receptor of VIP interaction with adjacent VIP-specific receptors.


1980 ◽  
Vol 58 (6) ◽  
pp. 537-544 ◽  
Author(s):  
Noemi M. Eiser ◽  
Jane Mills ◽  
K. D. McRae ◽  
P. D. Snashall ◽  
A. Guz

1. Nine normal subjects inhaled increasing concentrations of histamine aerosol from an aerosol generator attached to a breath-actuated dosimeter. The responses were monitored by measuring specific airways-conductance in a body plethysmograph, and the results were expressed as cumulative log dose-response curves. On separate days, histamine challenges were repeated after intravenous injections of sodium chloride solution (placebo), or an H1-receptor antagonist chlorpheniramine, or an H2-receptor antagonist cimetidine, or H1- and H2-receptor antagonists together. The anticholinergic activity of chlorpheniramine was estimated by comparing the effect of chlorpheniramine and atropine on methacholine challenge. 2. In all subjects the response to histamine was reproducible. Analysis of the variance showed that placebo did not alter the histamine dose-response curve significantly. In contrast, chlorpheniramine produced a large shift in the histamine dose-response curve to the right and cimetidine produced a significant shift of this curve to the right only at the highest dose of histamine. A combination of cimetidine and chlorpheniramine produced a shift not significantly different from that seen with chlorpheniramine alone. Chlorpheniramine showed no significant anticholinergic activity in this study. 3. In the normal subjects histamine-induced bronchoconstriction appeared to be mediated predominantly by the H1-receptors. The H2-receptor contributed very little to this bronchoconstriction.


Hypertension ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 36 (suppl_1) ◽  
pp. 698-698
Author(s):  
John Quilley ◽  
Yue Qiu

P30 Endothelium-dependent vasorelaxant responses to acetylcholine (Ach) in rat aorta are mediated solely by NO. Rings precontracted with U46619 were used to investigate the role of endothelial K + channels. Thus, any effect of K + channel inhibitors on Ach responses in the absence of an effect on those to nitroprusside (NP) can be attributed to interference with Ach-induced stimulation of NO. Vasorelaxant responses to Ach (log EC 50 -7.29M) were abolished by removal of the endothelium or inhibition of NO synthesis with nitroarginine (100μM) which potentiated responses to NP (log EC 50 -9.41M vs -8.47M for control). In the presence of TEA (10mM) to inhibit K + channels, the dose-response curve for Ach, but not NP, was shifted to the right (log EC 50 -6.06). Elevation of extracellular K + (25mM KCl)also shifted the dose-response curve for Ach to the right. Inhibitors of specific types of K + channels: BaCl 2 (30μM), apamin (100nM), glibenclamide (10μM), charybdotoxin (50nM) and iberiotoxin (100nM) were without effect on dose-response curves to either Ach or NP. However, the combination of apamin (100nM) and charybdotoxin (50nM) but not apamin plus iberiotoxin, reduced relaxant responses to Ach (log EC 50 -6.95M) without affecting those to NP.These results confirm that Ach-induced relaxation of rat aorta is mediated entirely by endothelium-derived NO, the release of which apparently involves hyperpolarization of the endothelium. This effect is dependent on activation of a K + channel that is blocked by a combination of apamin/charybdotoxin but neither agent alone, possibly indicating characteristics of both Ca 2+ - activated and voltage-dependent K + channels.


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