Seasonal variations in the muscarinic regulation of acetylcholine release from torpedo electric organ nerve terminals

I. Pinchasi*, M. Burstein, M. Moldovan, D. M. Michaelson

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

2 Scopus citations

Abstract

1. 1. The cholinergic nerve endings of the electric organs of Torpedo ocellata contain presynaptic muscarinic acetylcholine receptors (mAChR) which regulate acetylcholine (ACh) release by negative feedback. 2. 2. The efficiency of this muscarinic regulation varies circannually: maximal inhibition is observed in the winter, much smaller effects in the fall and spring, and no effect is observed during the summer. 3. 3. These variations are accompanied by seasonal changes in the ability of the mAChR to trigger the synthesis of its second messenger (a prostaglandin E-like substance) and in the ability of exogenous prostaglandin E2 to inhibit ACh release. No seasonal changes were found in the number of presynaptic mAChRs. 4. 4. These findings suggest that the observed seasonal variations are due to changes in both the metabolism of prostaglandins in the electric organ and the sensitivity of the ACh-releasing apparatus to the muscarinic second messenger.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)439-444
Number of pages6
JournalComparative biochemistry and physiology. C: Comparative pharmacology
Volume81
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - 1985

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