Source of the stimulus for nerve terminal sprouting in partially denervated muscle

The topological positions of nerve terminal sprouts in partially denervated rat sternocostal muscles were analysed. Sprouted nerve terminals were found only within 200 μm of a denervated muscle fibre, but were not necessarily within 200 μm of a denervated endplate. From this it was concluded that the sprout-inducing factor released from denervated muscle fibres does not necessarily arise from the denervated endplate, but may be released along the length of the muscle fibre. It is proposed that sprout factor is released during the incorporation of acetylcholine receptors into the muscle fibre membrane.     

B cells in the pathophysiology of myasthenia gravis

Myasthenia gravis (MG) is an archetypal autoimmune disease. The pathology is characterized by autoantibodies to the acetylcholine receptor (AChR) in most patients or to muscle‐specific tyrosine kinase (MuSK) in others and to a growing number of other postsynaptic proteins in smaller subsets. A decrease in the number of functional AChRs or functional interruption of the AChR within the muscle end plate of the neuromuscular junction is caused by pathogenic autoantibodies. Although the molecular immunology underpinning the pathology is well understood, much remains to be learned about the cellular immunology contributing to the production of autoantibodies. This Review documents research concerning the immunopathology of MG, bringing together evidence principally from human studies with an emphasis on the role of adaptive immunity and B cells in particular. Proposed mechanisms for autoimmunity, which take into account that different types of MG may incorporate divergent immunopathology, are offered. Muscle Nerve 57 : 172–184, 2018     

Novel compound heterozygous GFPT1 mutations in a family with limb-girdle myasthenia with tubular aggregates

Limb-girdle myasthenia with tubular aggregates, a subtype of congenital myasthenic syndrome, is an extremely rare autosomal recessive genetic disease characterized by prominent limb-girdle weakness and good response to acetylcholinesterase inhibitor therapy. Herein, we reported two novel mutations of GFPT1 gene in a Chinese pedigree. Two siblings presented with fatigue, weakness of limb-girdle and decrement of the muscle action potential with repetitive nerve stimulation. Thus, myasthenia gravis was initially suspected, but anti-AChR antibodies were negative. Two novel missense mutations (p.Lys154Asn and p.Asn363Ser) in GFPT1 were identified through genetic testing conducted on 167 well-established genes associated with muscular diseases by targeted high throughput sequencing. Both mutations have not been recorded in the dsSNP database, Exome Aggregation Consortium database and 1000 Genomes Project database. The mutation sites were co-segregated with the phenotype and conserved between the different species. The mutations were not found in the 200 unrelated normal controls. Muscle biopsies revealed tubular aggregates, in accordance with previous reports with GFPT1 mutations. Subsequently, dramatic improvement in strength occurred following anti-cholinesterase therapy. Our study will be helpful for the diagnosis and treatment for Limb-girdle myasthenia with tubular aggregates.     

The sigma-1 receptor is enriched in postsynaptic sites of C-terminals in mouse motoneurons. An anatomical and behavioral study

The sigma-1 receptor regulates various ion channel activity and possesses protein chaperone function. Using an antibody against the full sequence of the sigma-1 receptor we detected immunostaining in wild type but not in knockout mice. The receptor was found primarily in motoneurons localized to the brainstem and spinal cord. At the subcellular level the receptor is restricted to large cholinergic postsynaptic densities on the soma of motoneurons and is colocalized with the Kv2.1 potassium channel and the muscarinic type 2 cholinergic receptor. Ultrastructural analysis of the neurons indicates that the immunostained receptor is located close but separate from the plasma membrane, possibly in subsurface cisternae formed from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), which are a prominent feature of cholinergic postsynaptic densities. Behavioral testing on a rotorod revealed that Sigma-1 receptor knockout mice remained on the rotorod for significantly less time (a shorter latency period) compared to the wild type mice. Together these data indicate that the sigma-1 receptor may play a role in the regulation of motor behavior.     

Contribution of valine 7' of TMD2 to gating of neuronal alpha3 receptor subtypes

The second transmembrane domain (TMD2) of the Cys-loop family of ligand-gated ion channels forms the channel pore. The functional role of the amino acid residues contributing to the channel pore in neuronal nicotinic alpha3 receptors is not well understood. We characterized the contribution of TMD2 position V7' to channel gating in neuronal nicotinic alpha3 receptors. Site-directed mutagenesis was used to substitute position alpha3 (V7') with four different amino acids (A, F, S, or Y) and coexpressed each mutant subunit with wild-type (WT) beta2 or beta4 subunits in Xenopus oocytes. Whole-cell voltage clamp experiments show that substitution for an alanine, serine, or phenylalanine decreased by 2.3-6.2-fold the ACh-EC(50) for alpha3beta2 and alpha3beta4 receptor subtypes. Interestingly, mutation V7'Y did not produce a significant change in ACh-EC(50) when coexpressed with the beta2 subunit but showed a significant approximately two-fold increase with beta4. Similar responses were obtained with nicotine as the agonist. The antagonist sensitivity of the mutant channels was assessed by using dihydro-beta-erythroidine (DHbetaE) and methyllycaconitine (MLA). The apparent potency of DHbetaE as an antagonist increased by approximately 3.7- and 11-fold for the alpha3beta2 V7'S and V7'F mutants, respectively, whereas no evident changes in antagonist potency were observed for the V7'A and V7'Y mutants. The V7'S and V7'F mutations increase MLA antagonist potency for the alpha3beta4 receptor by approximately 6.2- and approximately 9.3-fold, respectively. The V7'A mutation selectively increases the MLA antagonist potency for the alpha3beta4 receptor by approximately 18.7-fold. These results indicate that position V7' contributes to channel gating kinetics and pharmacology of the neuronal nicotinic alpha3 receptors.     

Neuromuscular synaptic transmission in aged ganglioside-deficient mice

Gangliosides are sialylated glycosphingolipids that are present in high density on neuronal membranes, especially at synapses, where they are assumed to play functional or modulating roles. Mice lacking GM2/GD2-synthase express only the simple gangliosides GD3 and GM3 and develop progressive motor behaviour deficits upon ageing, apparently due to failing complex ganglioside-dependent maintenance and/or repair processes or, alternatively, toxic GM3/GD3 accumulation. We investigated the function of neuromuscular junctions (NMJs) of aged (>9 month-old) GM2/GD2-synthase null-mutant mice, because synaptic dysfunction might develop with age and could potentially contribute to the late-onset motor phenotype. In addition, we studied NMJs of old mice lacking GD3-synthase (expressing only O- and a-series gangliosides), which do not show an overt neurological phenotype but may develop subclinical synaptic deficits. Detailed electrophysiological analyses showed subtle changes in presynaptic neurotransmitter release. Acetylcholine release at 40 Hz nerve stimulation at aged GM2/GD2-synthase null-mutant NMJs ran down slightly more pronounced than at wild-type NMJs, and spontaneous acetylcholine release rate at GD3-synthase null-mutant NMJs was somewhat higher than at wild-type, selectively at 25 °C bath temperature. Interestingly, we observed faster kinetics of postsynaptic electrophysiological responses at aged GD3-synthase null-mutant NMJs, not previously seen by us at NMJs of young GD3-synthase null-mutants or other types of (aged or young) ganglioside-deficient mice. These kinetic changes might reflect a change in postsynaptic acetylcholine receptor behaviour. Our data indicate that it is highly unlikely that transmission failure at NMJs contributes to the progressive motor defects of aged GM2/GD2-synthase null-mutants and that, despite some kinetic changes of synaptic signals, neuromuscular transmission remains successful in aged GD3-synthase null-mutant mice. Apparently, mutual redundancy of the different gangliosides in supporting presynaptic function, as observed previously by us in young mice, remains adequate upon ageing or, alternatively, gangliosides have only relatively little direct impact on neuromuscular synaptic function, even in aged mice.     

Electroacupuncture Ameliorates Intestinal Barrier Destruction in Mice With Bile Duct Ligation–Induced Liver Injury by Activating the Cholinergic Anti-Inflammatory Pathway

ObjectivesElectroacupuncture (EA) at Zusanli (ST36) can attenuate inflammation in different rodent models. However, the therapeutic mechanisms underlying its action in inhibiting intestinal barrier destruction and liver injury in cholestasis mice have not been clarified. This study aimed at investigating whether EA at ST36 could activate the cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway to inhibit intestinal barrier destruction and liver injury in cholestasis mice.Materials and MethodsMale Hmox1^floxp/floxp C57BL/6 mice were randomized and subjected to a sham or bile duct ligation (BDL) surgery. The BDL mice were randomized and treated with, or without (BDL group), sham EA at ST36 (BDL+sham-ST36) or EA at ST36 (BDL+ST36), or received α-bungarotoxin (α-BGT), a specific inhibitor of nicotinic acetylcholine receptor α7 subunit (α7nAChR), before stimulation (BDL+ST36+α-BGT). These mice, together with a group of intestine-specific heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) knockout (KO) Villin-Cre-HO-1^?/? mice, were monitored for their body weights before and 14 days after BDL. The levels of plasma cytokines and liver injury–related alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) were measured by enzyme-linked immunoassay, and pathological changes in the intestinal mucosa and liver fibrosis as well as intestinal barrier permeability in individual mice were examined by histology and immunohistochemistry. The levels of α7nAChR, HO-1, ZO-1, Occludin, Claudin-1, and NF-κBp65 expression and NF-κBp65 phosphorylation in intestinal tissues were quantified.ResultsCompared with the sham group, BDL significantly increased the levels of plasma interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, IL-10, tumor necrosis factor α, ALT, and AST and caused intestinal mucosal damages, high permeability, and liver fibrosis in mice, which were remarkably mitigated, except for further increased levels of plasma IL-10 in the BDL+ST36 group of mice. Similarly, EA at ST36 significantly up-regulated α7nAChR and HO-1 expression; mitigated the BDL-decreased ZO-1, Occludin, and Claudin-1 expression; and attenuated the BDL-increased NF-κBp65 phosphorylation in intestinal tissues of mice. The therapeutic effects of EA at ST36 were significantly abrogated by pretreatment with α-BGT or HO-1 KO.ConclusionEA at ST36 inhibits the BDL-induced intestinal mucosal damage and liver fibrosis by activating the HO-1 cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway in intestinal tissues of mice.     

The local anaesthetics proadifen and adiphenine inhibit nicotinic receptors by different molecular mechanisms

Background and purpose:

Many local anaesthetics are non-competitive inhibitors of nicotinic receptors (acetylcholine receptor, AChR). Proadifen induces a high-affinity state of the receptor, but its mechanism of action and that of an analogue, adiphenine, is unknown.

Experimental approach:

We measured the effects of proadifen and adiphenine on single-channel and macroscopic currents of adult mouse muscle AChR (wild-type and mutant). We assessed the results in terms of mechanisms and sites of action.

Key results:

Both proadifen and adiphenine decreased the frequency of ACh-induced single-channel currents. Proadifen did not change cluster properties, but adiphenine decreased cluster duration (36-fold at 100 µmol·L⁻¹). Preincubation with proadifen decreased the amplitude (IC₅₀= 19 µmol·L⁻¹) without changing the decay rate of macroscopic currents. In contrast, adiphenine did not change amplitude but increased the decay rate (IC₅₀= 15 µmol·L⁻¹). Kinetic measurements demonstrate that proadifen acts on the resting state to induce a desensitized state whose kinetics of recovery resemble those of ACh-induced desensitization. Adiphenine accelerates desensitization from the open state, but previous application of the drug to resting receptors is required. Both drugs stabilize desensitized states, as evidenced by the decrease in the number of clusters elicited by high ACh concentrations. The inhibition by adiphenine is not affected by proadifen, and the mutation αE262K decreases the sensitivity of the AChR only for adiphenine, indicating that these drugs act at different sites.

Conclusions and implications:

Two analogous local anaesthetics bind to different sites and inhibit AChR activity via different mechanisms and conformational states. These results provide new information on drug modulation of AChR.