title: Spreading depression-induced preconditioning in the mouse cortex: differential changes in the protein expression of ionotropic nicotinic acetylcholine and glutamate receptors.
abstract: Preconditioning of the cerebral cortex was induced in mice by repeated cortical spreading depression (CSD), and the major ionotropic glutamate (GluRs) and nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChRs) subunits were compared by quantitative immunoblotting between sham- and preconditioned cortex, 24 h after treatment. A 30% reduction in alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-iso- xazolepropionate (AMPA) GluR1 and 2 subunit immunoreactivities was observed in the preconditioned cortex (p < 0.03), but there was no significant change in the NMDA receptor subunits, NR1, NR2A and NR2B. A 12-15-fold increase in alpha7 nAChR subunit expression following in vivo CSD (p < 0.001) was by far the most remarkable change associated with preconditioning. In contrast, the alpha4 nAChR subunit was not altered. These data point to the alpha7 nAChR as a potential new target for neuroprotection because preconditioning increases consistently the tolerance of the brain to acute insults such as ischaemia. These data complement recent studies implicating alpha7 nAChR overexpression in the amelioration of chronic neuropathologies, notably Alzheimer's disease (AD).
authors.affiliation: Institute of Pharmacy, Chemistry and Biomedical Sciences, School of Health, Natural and Social Sciences, University of Sunderland, Sunderland, UK. paul.chazot@sunderland.ac.uk
authors.forename: P L
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Chazot
authors.forename: O V
authors.initials: OV
authors.lastname: Godukhin
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: McDonald
authors.forename: T P
authors.initials: TP
authors.lastname: Obrenovitch
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D013181:Cortical Spreading Depression / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D021122:Protein Subunits / Q000378:metabolism; D018091:Receptors, AMPA / Q000378:metabolism; D017470:Receptors, Glutamate / Q000378:metabolism*; D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate / Q000378:metabolism; D011978:Receptors, Nicotinic / Q000378:metabolism*; D064569:alpha7 Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor
chemical_list: D021122:Protein Subunits; D018091:Receptors, AMPA; D017470:Receptors, Glutamate; D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate; D011978:Receptors, Nicotinic; D064569:alpha7 Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor; C579166:Chrna7 protein, mouse; C409466:NR1 NMDA receptor; C120997:NR2A NMDA receptor; C121001:NR2B NMDA receptor; C104722:glutamate receptor ionotropic, AMPA 2