title: alpha-Bungarotoxin-sensitive hippocampal nicotinic receptor channel has a high calcium permeability.
abstract: The hippocampal nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) is a newly identified ligand-gated ion channel that is blocked by the snake toxin alpha-bungarotoxin (alpha-BGT) and that probably contains the alpha 7 nAChR subunit in its structure. Here its ion selectivity was characterized and compared with that of the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor channel. The reversal potentials (VR) of acetylcholine- and NMDA-activated whole-cell currents were determined under various ionic conditions. Using ion activities and a Goldman-Hodgkin-Katz equation for VR shifts in the presence of Ca2+, permeability ratios were calculated. For the alpha-BGT-sensitive nAChR, PNa/PCs was close to 1 and Cl- did not contribute to the currents. Changing the [Ca2+]0 from 1 to 10 mM, the VRs of the nAChR and NMDA currents were shifted by +5.6 +/- 0.4 and +8.3 +/- 0.4 mV, respectively, and the nAChR current decay was accelerated. These shifts yielded PCa/PCss of 6.1 +/- 0.5 for the nAChR channel and 10.3 +/- 0.7 for the NMDA channel. Thus, the neuronal alpha-BGT-sensitive nAChR is a cation channel considerably selective to Ca2+ and may mediate a fast rise in intracellular Ca2+ that would increase in magnitude with membrane hyperpolarization.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore 21201-1559.
authors.forename: N G
authors.initials: NG
authors.lastname: Castro
authors.forename: E X
authors.initials: EX
authors.lastname: Albuquerque
mesh_terms: D000109:Acetylcholine / Q000494:pharmacology; D000818:Animals; D002038:Bungarotoxins / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002118:Calcium / Q000502:physiology*; D002463:Cell Membrane Permeability; D002586:Cesium / Q000494:pharmacology; D002712:Chlorides / Q000502:physiology; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000502:physiology*; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D015640:Ion Channel Gating / Q000187:drug effects; D008564:Membrane Potentials; D018408:Patch-Clamp Techniques; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D011978:Receptors, Nicotinic / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D002038:Bungarotoxins; D002712:Chlorides; D011978:Receptors, Nicotinic; D002586:Cesium; D000109:Acetylcholine; D002118:Calcium