title: Ca2+ permeability of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in rat hippocampal CA1 interneurones.
abstract: Neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) are widely expressed in the brain where they are involved in a variety of physiological processes, including cognition and development. The nAChRs are ligand-gated cationic channels, and different subtypes are known to be differentially permeable to Ca2+; the alpha7-containing nAChRs are generally considered to be the most permeable. Ca2+ can activate and regulate a variety of signal transduction cascades, and the influx of Ca2+ through these receptors may have implications for synaptic plasticity. To determine the Ca2+ permeability of the nAChRs in rat hippocampal interneurones in the slice, which contain diverse subtypes of alpha7- and non-alpha7-containing nAChRs, we combined patch-clamp electrophysiology recordings with conventional fura-2 fluorescence imaging techniques. We estimated the relative Ca2+ permeability of the channels by determining the ratio of the increase in [Ca2+]i level (Delta[Ca2+]i) in the soma to the integrated transmembrane current (charge, Q) induced by the activation of the nAChRs, and compared this ratio to the highly Ca2+ permeable NMDA subtype of glutamate receptor channel. In all cells tested, the Delta[Ca2+]i/Q ratio was significantly larger (i.e. more than twice as big) for responses activated by NMDA than for alpha7-containing nAChRs in interneurones; the activation of the non-alpha7 nAChRs did not produce any significant increase in [Ca2+]i. Interestingly, the Ca2+ permeability of native alpha7 nAChRs in PC12 cells was significantly larger than in hippocampal interneurones, and not significantly different from NMDA receptors. Therefore, the alpha7-containing nAChRs in rat hippocampal interneurones are significantly less permeable to Ca2+ than not only NMDA receptors but also alpha7 nAChRs in PC12 cells.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Neurobiology, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, NIH, DHHS, PO Box 12233, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, USA [corrected]
authors.forename: Dmitriy
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Fayuk
authors.forename: Jerrel L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Yakel
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism*; D020013:Calcium Signaling / Q000502:physiology*; D002460:Cell Line; D002463:Cell Membrane Permeability / Q000502:physiology*; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000378:metabolism*; D007395:Interneurons / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats; D011978:Receptors, Nicotinic / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D011978:Receptors, Nicotinic; D002118:Calcium