title: Ethanol increases agonist affinity for nicotinic receptors from Torpedo.
abstract: The presence of ethanol increases the apparent affinity with which acetylcholine and carbamylcholine elicit 86Rb+ flux from Torpedo nicotinic acetylcholine receptor-rich vesicles at 4 degrees C. Affinity increased exponentially with ethanol concentration, reaching nearly 200-fold by 3.0 M ethanol without sign of saturation. At submaximal agonist concentrations 50-100 mM ethanol enhanced flux by 15-35%, but the maximum agonist-induced flux was unaffected in quenched-flow assays. The effect was independent of the agonist and of the time over which flux was measured (5 ms to 10 s), indicating that ethanol acts before agonist-induced desensitization occurs. Ethanol also caused an increase in the apparent affinity with which acetylcholine caused fast desensitization. This affinity increase was equal to that for flux-response curves, but the maximum fast desensitization rate was increased 50% at 0.5 M ethanol. This was the most pronounced of ethanol's actions and has not been reported before. Prolonged preincubation with 1.0 M ethanol alone reduced agonist-induced flux activity by only 25%. The rate of agonist-induced slow desensitization was also increased, but neither of these effects was as marked as those on fast desensitization and cation flux.
authors.affiliation: Committee on Higher Degrees in Biophysics, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA.
authors.forename: S A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Forman
authors.forename: D L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Righi
authors.forename: K W
authors.initials: KW
authors.lastname: Miller
mesh_terms: D000109:Acetylcholine / Q000494:pharmacology; D000818:Animals; D002217:Carbachol / Q000494:pharmacology; D000431:Ethanol / Q000494:pharmacology*; D011978:Receptors, Nicotinic / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D012414:Rubidium Radioisotopes; D013570:Synaptic Membranes / Q000378:metabolism; D014101:Torpedo
chemical_list: D011978:Receptors, Nicotinic; D012414:Rubidium Radioisotopes; D000431:Ethanol; D002217:Carbachol; D000109:Acetylcholine