Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor ?9 and ?10 Subunits Are Expressed in the Brain of Mice.

ABSTRACT: The ?9 and ?10 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) subunits are likely to be the evolutionary precursors to the entire cys-loop superfamily of ligand-gated ion channels, which includes acetylcholine, GABA, glycine and serotonin ionotropic receptors. nAChRs containing ?9 and ?10 subunits are found in the inner ear, dorsal root ganglia and many non-excitable tissues, but their expression in the central nervous system has not been definitely demonstrated. Here we show the presence of both ?9 and ?10 nAChR subunits in the mouse brain by RT-PCR and immunochemical approaches with a range of nAChR subunit-selective antibodies, which selectivity was demonstrated in the brain preparations of ?7-/-, ?9-/- and ?10-/- mice. The ?9 and ?10 RNA transcripts were found in medulla oblongata (MO), cerebellum, midbrain (MB), thalamus and putamen (TP), somatosensory cortex (SC), frontal cortex (FC) and hippocampus. High ?9-selective signal in ELISA was observed in the FC, SC, MO, TP and hippocampus and ?10-selective signal was the highest in MO and FC. The ?9 and ?10 proteins were found in the brain mitochondria, while their presence on the plasma membrane has not been definitely confirmed The ?7-, ?9- and ?10-selective antibodies stained mainly neurons and hypertrophied astrocytes, but not microglia. The ?9- and ?10-positive cells formed ordered structures or zones in cerebellum and superior olive (SO) and were randomly distributed among ?7-positive cells in the FC; they were found in CA1, CA3 and CA4, but not in CA2 region of the hippocampus. The ?9 and ?10 subunits were up-regulated in ?7-/- mice and both ?7 and ?9 subunits were down-regulated in ?10-/- mice. We conclude that ?9 and ?10 nAChR subunits are expressed in distinct neurons of the mouse brain and in the brain mitochondria and are compensatory up-regulated in the absence of ?7 subunits.

SUBMITTER: Lykhmus O 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5601054 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature