The effect of anticholinesterase drugs on postjunctional potentials of skeletal muscle

Anticholinesterase induces nicotinic receptor modulation

The effects of carbamate anticholinesterases, pyridostigmine and physostigmine, on the function of the nicotinic receptor (nAChR) in TE671 cells was studied, precluding their inhibition of acetylcholine hydrolysis by carbachol usage. In radioassay, the simultaneous application of carbachol and carbamates dose-dependently decreased carbachol-induced 22Na+ influx, compared with carbachol activation alone. Increasing cell preincubation in the presence of carbamates, however, potentiated influx at low concentrations in a time-dependent manner. This facilitating effect of carbamates, even at high concentrations, was significantly increased by washing out these drugs and was blocked by pretreatment with diisopropylfluorophosphate. Similar results were also obtained in whole-cell patch-clamp study. There were insignificant changes in desensitization properties during facilitation. It is thus supposed that facilitation cannot be explained by the inhibition of acetylcholine hydrolysis. These results support a previous hypothesis that acetylcholinesterase might modulate nAChR by an unknown mechanism. In addition, the clinical effects of carbamates may be partly attributed to this facilitation.

Alkylating derivative of hexadecamethonium protects muscle synaptic acetylcholinesterase against inhibition

The action of the alkylating derivative of hexadecamethonium on frog neuromuscular transmission was studied with the help of intracellular microelectrodes. Treatment of frog m. cutaneous pectoris-n. pectoralis preparations with the alkylating derivative of hexadecamethonium (0.5 microM) for 30 min led to an irreversible decrease in the amplitude of the end-plate potentials by 2.5-fold without a change of their latency period or quantal content. Such treatment led also to a considerable reduction of the anticholinesterase effects of neostigmine and of the organophosphorus irreversible inhibitor, armine. Thus, when applied to intact nerve-muscle preparations, neostigmine (2 microM) or armine (1 microM) increased the amplitude of end-plate potentials by 80-90%, and the rise time and half-decay time by about 2- to 3-fold. However, after the nerve-muscle preparations were pretreated with the alkylating derivative of hexadecamethonium (0.5 microM, for 30 min), the amplitude of end-plate potentials increased by 20-25%, rise time by 15-20% and half-decay time by 40-50% only. Investigation of muscle acetylcholinesterase activity, using the Ellman technique, showed that the alkylating derivative of hexadecamethonium diminished the sensitivity of the muscle acetylcholinesterase to inhibition without exerting its own inhibitory action.

Effect of diisopropylfluorophosphate and soman on rat skeletal muscle contracture during tetanic stimulation

A number of reports have documented the myopathy that accompanies exposure to irreversible acetylcholinesterase inhibitors. However, less information is available on the functional consequences of the myopathy. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of diisopropylfluorophosphate (DFP) and soman on skeletal muscle contracture. Rats were given daily doses of DFP or soman, and the tetanic contracture of the triceps surae muscles was recorded at various exposure periods up to 20 d. DFP decreased tetanic contracture during 5-Hz stimulation. Increased stimulation up to 50 Hz did not enhance the effect. The muscles showed the greatest deficit on d 5. Continued dosing produced a slightly attenuated effect. Soman produced a frequency-dependent increase in muscle contracture. The increase was greatest on d 2 and 4, but remained elevated over the 20-d study. These results show that two drugs that presumably both raised levels of transmitter in the synaptic cleft as a result of esterase inhibition can produce either enhanced or decreased muscle contraction.

Possible role of acetylcholinesterase in regulation of postsynaptic receptor efficacy at a central inhibitory synapse of Aplysia

Most of the effects of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) on synaptic transmission are considered to be related to its acetylcholine (ACh) hydrolysing properties. This is clearly apparent from changes which occur in the characteristics of the miniature endplate potential and of the endplate potential at neuromuscular junctions when AChE is inhibited1-4 and during the development of enzymatic AChE activity at maturing synapses5. However, we report here that after inhibiting AChE in a cholinergic synapse in Aplysia, we found an increase not only in postsynaptic responses to presynaptic stimulation and to ionophoretic application of ACh on postsynaptic receptors, but also to ionophoretic application of carbachol. This could not be explained by the inhibition of the ACh hydrolysing function of the enzyme, as carbachol is not hydrolysed by AChE. A possible explanation of these observations is that inhibition of the enzyme affects a property of the ACh receptor (AChR) itself.

Direct and indirect effects of an organophosphorus acetylcholinesterase inhibitor and of an oxime on a neuro-neuronal synapse

The action of an irreversible inhibitor of acetylcholinesterase (AChE), the organophosphorus compound, ecothiopate iodide, and of a reactivator of phosphorylated AChE, contrathion, were analysed on acetylcholine (ACh) receptors and cholinergic synaptic transmission in the buccal ganglion of Aplysia. At high concentration (above 10(-4)mol X 1(-1), both compounds exerted a curare-like depression on ACh receptors which was reversible with washing. Both compounds reversibly facilitated the current response to ionophoretic application of ACh and increased the evoked postsynaptic current (PSC) as well as the miniature postsynaptic currents (MPSCs). All responses also showed an increase in decay time. These modifications, when induced by ecothiopate iodide were irreversible by washing; however they could be reversed if first washed with contrathion. Neither the organophosphate compound or the oxime did change the number of quanta released per impulse. The current response to ionophoretic application of carbachol also increased after ecothiopate iodide was added. In the limits of the method used, the conductance and opening time of postsynaptic ionic channels opened by ACh were not found to be modified by the two compounds. It was concluded that the facilitatory action of the organophosphorus inhibitors cannot be solely explained by the inhibition of ACh hydrolysis.