We investigated long-lasting interactions that may occur between two forms of intercellular signaling: cholinergic synaptic transmission and gap junction-mediated coupling in the rat adrenal medulla. The junctional coupling between chromaffin cells was studied during reduced or blocked synaptic transmission in adrenal slices. First, cholinergic synaptic activity was reduced by pharmacological t...

The stimulation of cholinergic receptors in target cells during a critical developmental period provides signals that influence cell replication and differentiation. Accordingly, environmental agents that promote cholinergic activity evoke neurodevelopmental damage because of the inappropriate timing or intensity of stimulation. Nicotine evokes mitotic arrest in brain cells possessing high conc...

OBJECTIVE Brown adipose tissue (BAT) thermogenesis is critical in maintaining body temperature. The dorsomedial hypothalamus (DMH) integrates cutaneous thermosensory signals and regulates adaptive thermogenesis. Here, we study the function and synaptic connectivity of input from DMH cholinergic neurons to sympathetic premotor neurons in the raphe pallidus (Rpa). METHODS In order to selectivel...

Abstract Objectives Inflammation can be endogenously modulated by the cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway via calcium (Ca 2+ )-permeable alpha-7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (α7nAChR) ion channel expressed in immune cells. α7nAChR agonist choline and tryptophan metabolite kynurenic acid (KYNA) produces immunomodulatory effects. This study aimed to determine effects of KYNA on lipopolysacc...

Particulate fractions from fresh bovine corneal endothelium exhibited high affinity, specific binding by a potent muscarinic cholinergic radioligand, [3H]QNB. Particulate fraction binding sites exhibited half maximal binding at approximately 0.3 nM [3H]QNB and reached a maximal binding capacity of 820 fmoles/mg of protein at 3 nM [3H]QNB. Muscarinic cholinergic antagonists and agonists competed...

Conditioned place preference (CPP) is widely used to investigate the rewarding properties of cocaine. Various brain regions and neurotransmitters are involved in developing cocaine CPP. However, the contribution of cholinergic transmission in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) to cocaine CPP remains largely unexplored. Here, we examined the role of cholinergic input arising from the laterodorsal ...

A remarkable feature of early neuronal networks is their endogenous ability to generate spontaneous rhythmic electrical activity independently of any external stimuli. In the mouse embryonic SC, this activity starts at an embryonic age of ∼ 12 d and is characterized by bursts of action potentials recurring every 2-3 min. Although these bursts have been extensively studied using extracellular re...

Glutamate, the neurotransmitter, enhances rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep when microinjected into the brain stem pedunculopontine tegmentum (PPT) of the cat and rat. Glutamate and its various receptors are normally present in the PPT cholinergic cell compartment. The aim of this study was to identify which specific receptor(s) in the cholinergic cell compartment of the PPT are involved in glutam...

A clonal rat sympathetic nerve cell line, PC12, binds iodinated cY-bungarotoxin. The binding is saturable and is inhibited by a variety of cholinergic agonists and antagonists. The pseudo-first order rate constant for binding is 2.1 x lo” Mm1 s-l at 22”. In contrast to the cu-bungarotoxin binding reaction found with muscle, the binding to PC12 is reversible with a first order rate constant of 4...

A clonal rat sympathetic nerve cell line, PC12, binds iodinated alpha-bungarotoxin. The binding is saturable and is inhibited by a variety of cholinergic agonists and antagonists. The pseudo-first order rate constant for binding is 2.1 x 10(5) M-1 S-1 at 22 degrees. In contrast to the alpha-bungarotoxin binding reaction found with muscle, the binding to PC12 is reversible with a first order rat...