title: Potentiation of acetylcholine responses in Xenopus embryonic muscle cells by dibutyryl cAMP.
abstract: Application of membrane-permeable analogues of adenosine 3',5'-(cyclic)monophosphate (cAMP) or forskolin to embryonic muscle cells of 1-day-old Xenopus cultures altered the response of the myocyte to iontophoretically applied acetylcholine (ACh). The initial amplitude and the decay time of the ACh-induced currents were elevated, and the rate of ACh-induced channel desensitization was increased. Single-channel recordings showed that cAMP analogues increased the mean open time of the low-conductance ACh channels, without affecting the single-channel conductance. Interestingly, this effect on ACh channels disappeared in myocytes of 3-day-old cultures, suggesting developmental changes in the susceptibility of the ACh channel to modulation. A possible involvement of cAMP in modulating the synaptic activity of early developing synapses was further indicated by prolonged decay times of spontaneous synaptic currents following treatment with dibutyryl-cAMP (Bt2cAMP). Factors released from the nerve terminals, if they activate the muscle adenylate cyclase system, could thus enhance the synaptic response during synaptogenesis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei.
authors.forename: W M
authors.initials: WM
authors.lastname: Fu
mesh_terms: D000109:Acetylcholine / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000818:Animals; D003994:Bucladesine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D016922:Cellular Senescence; D000242:Cyclic AMP / Q000031:analogs & derivatives; D004357:Drug Synergism; D004553:Electric Conductivity; D004625:Embryo, Nonmammalian / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D007473:Ion Channels / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D009132:Muscles / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000196:embryology*; D013569:Synapses / Q000502:physiology; D014981:Xenopus
chemical_list: D007473:Ion Channels; D003994:Bucladesine; D000242:Cyclic AMP; D000109:Acetylcholine