title: Nicotinic agonists differ in activation and desensitization of 86Rb+ efflux from mouse thalamic synaptosomes.
abstract: The effects of the nicotinic agonists acetylcholine, (+)-anatox in-a, carbachol, cytisine, dimethylphenylpiperazinum, (+)-epibatidine, (-)-epibatidine, methylcarbachol, D-nicotine, L-nicotine, and tetramethylammonium on 86Rb+ efflux from mouse thalamic synaptosomes were investigated. All 11 agonists evoked a concentration-dependent stimulation of 86Rb+ efflux as well as a time- and concentration-dependent reduction of response (desensitization). The agonists varied widely in potency, efficacy and rate of desensitization. (+)-Epibatidine was the most potent agonist (EC50 = 10 nM), whereas tetramethylammonium was the least potent (EC50 = 65 microM). The agonists containing a quaternary ammonium group were generally more efficacious than the other agonists, except for both of the enantiomers of epibatidine, which stimulated 86Rb+ efflux at least as well as acetylcholine. Cytisine was the least efficacious compound tested with a maximal response approximately 10% that of (-)-epibatidine. Exposure of the thalamic synaptosomes to agonist concentrations that generally stimulated little or no efflux reduced in a concentration-dependent manner a subsequent response to 10 microM nicotine. The IC50 values for this functional blockade (desensitization) were highly correlated with the Ki values for the inhibition of [3H]nicotine binding. Furthermore, exposure of the thalamic synaptosomes to 300 nM L-nicotine reduced the responses evoked by a subsequent exposure to a stimulating concentration of all 11 agonists. The observation of desensitization by both stimulating and substimulating concentrations of each agonist is consistent with the predictions of the two-state model of Katz and Thesleff.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Behavioral Genetics, University of Colorado, Boulder, USA.
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Marks
authors.forename: S F
authors.initials: SF
authors.lastname: Robinson
authors.forename: A C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Collins
mesh_terms: D000109:Acetylcholine / Q000494:pharmacology; D000818:Animals; D002217:Carbachol / Q000494:pharmacology; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005260:Female; D007700:Kinetics; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D009538:Nicotine / Q000819:agonists / Q000378:metabolism*; D012414:Rubidium Radioisotopes / Q000378:metabolism*; D013574:Synaptosomes / Q000187:drug effects*; D013788:Thalamus / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D012414:Rubidium Radioisotopes; D009538:Nicotine; D002217:Carbachol; D000109:Acetylcholine