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High affinity and low affinity heteromeric nicotinic acetylcholine receptors at central synapses
Author(s) -
d’Incamps Boris Lamotte,
Ascher Philippe
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
the journal of physiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.802
H-Index - 240
eISSN - 1469-7793
pISSN - 0022-3751
DOI - 10.1113/jphysiol.2014.273128
Subject(s) - nicotinic agonist , ionotropic effect , receptor , acetylcholine receptor , chemistry , alpha 4 beta 2 nicotinic receptor , cys loop receptors , biophysics , neurotransmission , neuroscience , ganglion type nicotinic receptor , biology , biochemistry , nicotinic acetylcholine receptor , glutamate receptor
Most neuronal heteromeric nicotinic receptors seem able to adopt two different stochiometries depending on the ratio of α and β subunits. In recombinant receptors these two stoichiometries have been associated with different affinities to ACh, but it is not known which stoichiometry is present at nicotinic synapses in the nervous system. One possible clue to this identification is the speed of decay of the synaptic currents. In many ionotropic receptors this speed has been linked to the dissociation rate of the transmitter, which is itself related to its affinity. On this basis we propose that, at the synapse between motoneuron and Renshaw cells, the heteromeric nicotinic receptors are mostly low affinity receptors and suggest that, in contrast, the very slow decay of some synaptic currents recorded in other parts of the brain signs the presence of high affinity receptors rather than volume transmission.