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Turnover of acetylcholine receptors at the endplate revisited: novel insights into nerve-dependent behavior

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Journal of Muscle Research and Cell Motility Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The turnover of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (AChR) is a critical factor that determines function and safety of neuromuscular transmission at the nerve-muscle synapses, i.e. neuromuscular junctions (NMJs). Previously, three different populations of AChRs exhibiting distinct stereotypic and activity-dependent half-life values were observed in mouse muscles. To address AChR turnover in more detail, we here employed a recently developed longitudinal radioiodine assay that is based on repetitive measurements of radio emission from the same animals over long periods of time in combination with systematic variation of the time elapsed between AChR pulse-labeling and muscle denervation. Modeling of the data revealed profiles of AChR de novo synthesis and receptor incorporation into the postsynaptic membrane. Furthermore, decay of pre-existing AChRs upon denervation showed a peculiar pattern corroborating earlier findings of a two-step stabilization of AChRs.

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Acknowledgments

RR was supported by DFG Grant RU923/8-1 and a grant of Hector foundation II. FW was funded by a PhD fellowship of the Albert und Anneliese Konanz-foundation. We are grateful for continued support of the ITG animal facility.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Institute of Toxicology and Genetics, 76344, Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany

    Siegfried Strack, Muzamil Majid Khan, Franziska Wild, Anika Rall & Rüdiger Rudolf

  2. Mannheim University of Applied Sciences, Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, 68163, Mannheim, Germany

    Muzamil Majid Khan, Franziska Wild & Rüdiger Rudolf

  3. Interdisciplinary Center for Neurosciences, University of Heidelberg, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany

    Muzamil Majid Khan, Franziska Wild & Rüdiger Rudolf

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  1. Siegfried Strack
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  2. Muzamil Majid Khan
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  3. Franziska Wild
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  4. Anika Rall
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  5. Rüdiger Rudolf
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Correspondence to Rüdiger Rudolf.

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Strack, S., Khan, M.M., Wild, F. et al. Turnover of acetylcholine receptors at the endplate revisited: novel insights into nerve-dependent behavior. J Muscle Res Cell Motil 36, 517–524 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10974-015-9418-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10974-015-9418-0

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