Studies on the [3H] choline uptake in rat phrenic nerve-diaphragm preparations

Expression of the High-affinity Choline Transporter CHT1 in Rat and Human Arteries

The arterial vascular wall contains a non-neuronal intrinsic cholinergic system. The rate-limiting step in acetylcholine (ACh) synthesis is choline uptake. A high-affinity choline transporter, CHT1, has recently been cloned from neural tissue and has been identified in epithelial cholinergic cells. Here we investigated its presence in rat and human arteries and in primary cell cultures of rat vascular cells (endothelial cells, smooth muscle cells, fibroblasts). CHT1-mRNA was detected in the arterial wall and in all isolated cell types by RT-PCR using five different CHT1-specific primer pairs. Antisera raised against amino acids 29-40 of the rat sequence labeled a single band (50 kD) in Western blots of rat aorta, and an additional higher molecular weight band appeared in the hippocampus. Immunohistochemistry demonstrated CHT1 immunoreactivity in endothelial and smooth muscle cells in situ and in all cultured cell types. A high-affinity [3H]-choline uptake mechanism sharing characteristics with neuronal high-affinity choline uptake, i.e., sensitivity to hemicholinium-3 and dependence on sodium, was demonstrated in rat thoracic aortic segments by microimager autoradiography. Expression of the high-affinity choline transporter CHT1 is a novel component of the intrinsic non-neuronal cholinergic system of the arterial vascular wall, predominantly in the intimal and medial layers.

Uptake and metabolism of [3H]choline by the rat phrenic nerve-hemidiaphragm preparation

A whole nerve-muscle preparation (about 160 mg) or an end-plate preparation (about 25 mg) of the rat phrenic nerve-hemidiaphragm were incubated with [3H]choline, to investigate choline uptake and choline metabolism. Choline uptake was measured from the disappearance of choline from the incubation medium during the loading period and from the retention of tritium in the tissue after the loading and washout period. Based on the results obtained with both methods the end-plate preparation takes up three times as much choline than the whole nerve-muscle preparation or a small muscle strip that was cut outside the end-plate region and had a similar size as the end-plate preparation. Choline uptake was not markedly affected by the degree of nerve activity or by a chronic denervation. However, hemicholinium-3 significantly reduced (50%) the choline uptake by the end-plate preparation. Most of the choline (70-88%) taken up was metabolized and incorporated into membrane structures. Phosphatidylcholine was the predominant metabolite in both preparations. The ratio of phosphatidylcholine/lysophosphatidylcholine in the end-plate preparation (16) was significantly lower than in the whole nerve-muscle preparation (31). This might indicate a higher metabolism of phosphatidylcholine in the end-plate preparation. It is suggested that choline uptake by the rat phrenic nerve-hemidiaphragm occurs mainly by the muscle fibres. The innervated part of the muscle fibres can accumulate more choline than the peripheral part outside the end-plate region, probably because of a very active choline phospholipid metabolism within the end-plate region.

Release of [3H]acetylcholine from a modified rat phrenic nerve-hemidiaphragm preparation

Two different preparations of the rat phrenic nerve-hemidiaphragm (whole nerve-muscle preparation, end-plate preparation) were used for studying synthesis and release of radioactive acetylcholine in the absence and presence of cholinesterase inhibitors. When the whole nerve-muscle preparation (110-180 mg) was incubated with [3H]choline, only small amounts of radioactive acetylcholine were synthesized within the tissue. Electrical nerve stimulation of the whole nerve-muscle preparation produced no increase in tritium outflow. Incubation of the end-plate preparation (16-29 mg) which was obtained after removal of most of the muscle mass led to the formation of large amounts of [3H]acetylcholine. Synthesis depended on nerve activity and increased 13-fold during a high loading stimulation (50 Hz), as compared to the synthesis at rest. In a denervated end-plate preparation the formation of [3H]acetylcholine was reduced to 4% of the control preparation. Electrical nerve stimulation of the end-plate preparation produced a release of tritium that could be attributed entirely to the release of [3H]acetylcholine. The stimulated tritium efflux was completely suppressed in a calcium-free medium or in the presence of tetrodotoxin (300 nM). Release could even be detected during a short train of 50 pulses (5 Hz) with a fractional release of about 0.04% of the [3H]acetylcholine tissue content per pulse. It is concluded that the large muscle mass interferes with nerve labelling by a reduction of the [3H]choline supply to the nerve terminals when the whole nerve-muscle preparation is used.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Radioactive choline uptake in the isolated rat phrenic nerve-hemidiaphragm preparation. A biochemical and autoradiographic study

When hemidiaphragms are stimulated via the phrenic nerve in the presence of 10 microM radioactive choline (Ch), the rate of radioactive Ch uptake in the endplate-rich area (EPA) is greater than that in the endplate-poor muscle (M). Ch uptake in the EPA is temperature-dependent, with a Q10 of 2.9 and an activation energy of 19.5 kcal/mol. It is inhibited in a Na+-depleted medium, in the absence of Ca2+, and by 10-20 microM hemicholinium-3 (HC-3) and it is not inhibited by alpha-bungarotoxin even when the muscle is completely paralyzed. In the absence of stimulation the rate of uptake in the EPA is slightly, but not significantly, greater than in M. Using autoradiography, we find an enhanced amount of isotope in the nerve terminals and their immediate vicinities compared with the muscle fibres, in both stimulated and unstimulated hemidiaphragms. There is no enhanced uptake of isotope into the nerve terminals in stimulated tissues in the presence of 26 microM HC-3. The uptake of isotope into the muscle is not altered by any of these treatments. There is a positive correlation between the initial rate of radioactive Ch uptake in the EPA and the amount of isotope in the nerve terminals (the mean corrected grain density above the nerve terminals). Without correcting for the large amount of diffusion that occurs, the ratio of the grain density above the synapses to that above the muscle fibres is 1.66 in tissue stimulated at 1 Hz, 1.04 in stimulated tissues in the presence of 26 microM HC-3, and 1.31 in unstimulated tissues.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

The effect of the scorpion venom, tityustoxin, on high-affinity choline uptake in rat brain cortical slices

Tityustoxin (TsTx) inhibited high affinity choline uptake (HAChU) in cortical slices of the rat brain. The effect was dependent on the concentration of tityustoxin, energy source, incubation time, temperature, and the pH of the incubation medium. The inhibitory effect was dependent upon the presence of sodium and calcium ions in the incubation medium; barium ions could not replace calcium. Both tetrodotoxin and ethyleneglycol-tetra-acetic acid (EGTA) blocked the inhibitory effect of tityustoxin on high affinity choline uptake. On this evidence, it is suggested that the effect of tityustoxin might be related to its action on cell depolarization, causing an increase in the release of acetylcholine (ACh).

Potassium activation of [3H]-choline accumulation by isolated sympathetic ganglia of the rat

1 The effect of K-depolarization on the uptake of low and high concentrations of [3H]-choline by isolated superior sympathetic ganglia of the rat has been studied. 2 In unstimulated ganglia, the uptake of [3H]-choline (0.1 microM) ('high affinity uptake') was unaffected by denervation or by hemicholinium-3 (HC-3), suggesting uptake by structures other than cholinergic nerve terminals. 3 K-depolarization of the ganglia increased [3H]-choline accumulation by the high affinity uptake process but in contrast the 'low affinity' accumulation of [3H]-choline (100 microM) was decreased. 4 The K-activated, 'high affinity' component of choline uptake was highly sodium-dependent, inhibited by HC-3, and was abolished by denervation. 5 In incubation conditions designed to prevent transmitter release (Ca-free medium and high-Mg medium), the K-activated uptake of [3H]-choline was abolished. 6 It is concluded that in unstimulated ganglia, there is little choline uptake by nerve terminals. However, when the terminals are depolarized, choline uptake is increased by the activation of a sodium-dependent, HC-3-sensitive transport process. The activation of this uptake process is apparently associated with the release of acetylcholine from the terminals, or by changes in ionic fluxes, and not by the depolarization per se.

Inhibition of brain synaptosomal uptake of choline by some 2-carboxamidostrychnine derivatives with muscle-relaxant properties

Some 2-carboxamido derivatives of strychnine with a peripheral muscle-relaxant effect in vivo and in vitro were tested for their ability to inhibit choline (Ch) uptake into mouse brain synaptosomes. A non-competitive inhibition of the high affinity Ch uptake by strychnine and some of its derivatives was observed.

Cooperative effects of hemicholinium-3 on high-affinity choline uptake by rat diaphragm

Choline uptake in the end-plate rich area of rat diaphragm is saturable between 0.7 and 16 micron. This choline uptake obeys hyperbolic kinetics and indicates the presence of high-affinity carrier with Km values of 11.8 and 13.2 micron and Vmax values of 37 and 31 nmol choline/h/g tissue respectively. In the presence of hemicholinium-3 the carrier shows sigmoidal kinetics, and hemicholinium-3 is apparently a cooperative effector of choline uptake. The carrier is more calcium than sodium dependent.

Choline: high-affinity uptake by rat brain synaptosomes

Synaptosomes from rat brain accumulate choline by two kinetically distinct processes, a high-affinity uptake system [Michaelis constant (K(m)) = 1 x 10(-6)M], and a low-affinity system (K(m) = 9 x 10(-5)M). The high-affinity uptake system requires sodium, and is associated with considerable formation of acetylcholine. The low-affinity uptake system is less dependent on sodium, and does not appear to be associated with a marked degree of acetylcholine formation. The high-affinity choline uptake appears to represent selective choline accumulation by cholinergic neurons.