Alpha 9: an acetylcholine receptor with novel pharmacological properties expressed in rat cochlear hair cells

Molecular machinery of auditory and vestibular transduction

The hunt for molecules that conduct mechanoelectrical transduction in hair cells has recently intensified. A hair cell's transduction apparatus adapts to sustained stimuli, and myosin I beta and myosin VIIA have been advanced as candidates for the motor that mediates this process. The identity of the transduction channel remains unknown, although a viable suggestion proposes that it belongs to the amiloride-sensitive Na+ channel family.

Ligand-binding properties of an unusual nicotinic acetylcholine receptor subtype on isolated outer hair cells from guinea pig cochlea

Acetylcholine receptors on isolated guinea pig cochlear outer hair cells (OHC) were characterized by radioligand binding. Equilibrium binding of [125I]alpha-bungarotoxin revealed a KD of 62 +/- 2 nM, Bmax = 7.2 +/- 1.8 x 10(7) binding sites/OHC, and a slowly reversible dissociation rate constant, kappa-1 = 2.2 +/- 0.01 x 10(-4) min-1. L-[3H]Nicotine bound reversibly (estimated KD approximately 230 nM and Bmax approximately 5 x 10(7)) with kinetic rate constants of association kappa-1 = 6.2 +/- 0.06 x 10(4) min-1 nM-1 and dissociation kappa-1 = 0.23 +/- 0.003 min-1. [3H]Strychnine bound to OHC with a KD of 35 +/- 6 nM and Bmax = 2.6 +/- 0.5 x 10(7), and binding increased 3-4 fold after membrane depolarization with 56.2 mM [K+], suggesting additional binding sites. Binding, seen only at > nM concentrations, of [3H]3-quinuclidinyl benzilate (KD = 11.5 +/- 5 nM; Bmax = 2.5 +/- 0.6 x 10(6)) was competitively inhibited by the muscarinic antagonists atropine and 4-DAMP (IC50 of 6.1 +/- 0.5 and 6.5 +/- 0.4 nM). The OHC receptor is thus an atypical nicotinic acetylcholine receptor subtype with unusual pharmacological properties.

Human alpha 7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor responses to novel ligands

Responses of the human alpha 7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) in Xenopus laevis oocytes were quantified using two-electrode voltage clamp in the presence of barium (10 mM) to block secondary activation of Ca(2+)-dependent chloride currents. The effect of (S)-3-methyl-5-(1-methyl-2-pyrrolidinyl) isoxazole (ABT-418) and (2,4)-dimethoxybenzylidene anabaseine (GTS-21), two potential compounds for the treatment of Alzheimer's Disease, and of the natural product (+/-)epibatidine were compared to (-)nicotine. (+/-)Epibatidine acted as an agonist and was 64-fold more potent than (-) nicotine (EC50s = 1.30 +/- 0.11 microM and 83 +/- 10 microM, respectively). ABT-418 also was an agonist, 3-fold less potent and 75% as efficacious as (-)nicotine (EC50 = 264 +/- 34 microM). GTS-21, in contrast, inhibited the response to (-)nicotine at concentrations < or = 10 microM and itself elicited only a small response at higher concentrations (12% of the (-)nicotine response at 1 mM). Reversible blockade by methyllycaconitine (10 nM) corroborated the responses as due to activation of alpha 7 nAChR. This represents the first characterization of human alpha 7 nAChR responses to these novel nicotinic agonists.

Identification of a new component of the agonist binding site of the nicotinic alpha 7 homooligomeric receptor

Tryptophan 54 of the alpha 7 neuronal nicotinic homooligomeric receptor is homologous to gamma-Trp-55 and delta-Trp-57 of non-alpha subunits of Torpedo receptor labeled by d-tubocurarine. This residue was mutated on the alpha 7-V201-5-hydroxytryptamine (5HT)3 homooligomeric chimera, which displays alpha 7 nicotinic pharmacology, and for which both equilibrium binding studies and electrophysiological recordings could be carried out in parallel. Replacement of Trp-54 by a Phe, Ala, or His causes a progressive decrease both in binding affinity and in responses (EC50 or IC50) for acetylcholine, nicotine, and dihydro-beta-erythroidine, without significant modification in alpha-Bgtx binding. Except for Gln-56, comparatively small effects are observed when the other residues of the 52-58 region are mutated into alanine. These data support the participation of Trp-54 to ligand binding, and provide evidence for a new "complementary component" of the alpha 7 nicotinic binding site, distinct from its three-loop "principal component," and homologous to the "non-alpha component" present on gamma and delta subunits.

Nicotinic receptor function in the mammalian central nervous system

The diversity of neuronal nicotinic receptors (nAChRs) in addition to their possible involvement in such pathological conditions as Alzheimer's disease have directed our research towards the characterization of these receptors in various mammalian brain areas. Our studies have relied on electrophysiological, biochemical, and immunofluorescent techniques applied to cultured and acutely dissociated hippocampal neurons, and have been aimed at identifying the various subtypes of nAChRs expressed in the mammalian central nervous system (CNS), at defining the mechanisms by which CNS nAChR activity is modulated, and at determining the ion permeability of CNS nAChR channels. Our findings can be summarized as follows: (1) hippocampal neurons express at least three subtypes of CNS nAChRs--an alpha 7-subunit-bearing nAChR that subserves fast-inactivating, alpha-BGT-sensitive currents, which are referred to as type IA, and alpha 4 beta 2 nAChR that subserves slowly inactivating, dihydro-beta-erythroidine-sensitive currents, which are referred to as type II, and an alpha 3 beta 4 nAChR that subserves slowly inactivating, mecamylamine-sensitive currents, which are referred to as type III; (2) nicotinic agonists can activate a single type of nicotinic current in olfactory bulb neurons, that is, type IA currents; (3) alpha 7-subunit-bearing nAChR channels in the hippocampus have a brief lifetime, a high conductance, and a high Ca2+ permeability; (4) the peak amplitude of type IA currents tends to rundown with time, and this rundown can be prevented by the presence of ATP-regenerating compounds (particularly phosphocreatine) in the internal solution; (5) rectification of type IA currents is dependent on the presence of Mg2+ in the internal solution; and (6) there is an ACh-insensitive site on neuronal and nonneuronal nAChRs through which the receptor channel can be activated. These findings lay the groundwork for a better understanding of the physiological role of these receptors in synaptic transmission in the CNS.

A novel regulatory element of a nicotinic acetylcholine receptor gene interacts with a DNA binding activity enriched in rat brain

Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors are ligand-gated ion channels that play a critical role in signal transmission in the nervous system. The genes encoding the various subunits that comprise functional acetylcholine receptors are expressed in distinct temporal and spatial patterns. Studies to understand the molecular mechanisms underlying the differential expression of the receptor subunit genes have led to the identification, in this report, of a 19-base pair cis-acting element that is required for transcriptional activation of the rat beta 4 subunit gene. Screening of computer data bases with the 19-base pair element revealed the sequence to be unique among known transcriptional regulatory elements. Loss of this element resulted in drastically reduced beta 4 promoter activity in transfected cholinergic SN17 cells. Furthermore, this element specifically interacts with nuclear proteins prepared from both SN17 cells and adult rat brain. UV cross-linking experiments indicated the presence, in SN17 nuclear extracts, of a prominent protein species (approximately 50 kDa) that interacts specifically with the 19-base pair element. These results lead us to hypothesize that interactions between the 50-kDa protein and the novel 19-base pair element are necessary for transcriptional activation of the beta 4 subunit gene.