Functionality of nitrated acetylcholine receptor: The two-step formation of nitrotyrosines reveals their differential role in effectors binding

AbstractThe presence of nitrotyrosines is associated with several neurodegenerative pathologies. We evaluated the functionality of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor possessing nitrotyrosines. The spectrum of the nitrated receptor displays an absorption band characteristic of ortho-nitrophenol. The presence of carbamylcholine in the agonist site prevented the effect of nitration by tetranitromethane in some conditions. The nitration occurred with two discrete steps and pointed out the differential involvement of tyrosines in the binding of acetylcholine and neurotoxin. We concluded that at least two residues involved in agonist binding can be nitrated, which bring similar contributions to the binding energy of the neurotransmitter

A non-radioactive ligand-binding assay for detection of cyanobacterial anatoxins using Torpedo electrocyte membranes.

Anatoxin-a (ANTX) and homoanatoxin-a (HANTX), neurotoxins exclusively produced by cyanobacteria (LD(50) 200-250 microg kg(-1), i.p. mouse), are agonists of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) to which they tightly bind. We have exploited the high affinity of these neurotoxins for the nicotinic receptors to develop a non-radioactive ligand-binding assay using Torpedo electrocyte membranes and biotinylated alpha-bungarotoxin (Biotin-BgTx) as tracer for detection of this class of toxins. The affinity of the Torpedo nAChRs for Biotin-BgTx was determined by chemiluminescence (K(d)=1.2 x 10(-8)M Biotin-BgTx) or color development (K(d)=3.5 x 10(-8)M Biotin-BgTx). Binding of ANTX or HANTX to the nAChRs competitively inhibits the binding of Biotin-BgTx to the receptors in a concentration-dependent manner (chemiluminescence: IC(50): 6.2 x 10(-8)M ANTX; color development: IC(50): 1.7 x 10(-8)M ANTX). The proposed method was validated by HPLC/MS with detection in the single ion recording mode. The non-radioactive ligand receptor-binding assay was successfully applied to the analysis of extracts prepared from cyanobacteria in culture and from natural habitats, as well as from aqueous samples. This method is suitable for ANTX and HANTX early survey of environmental samples since it requires minimal manipulations, is highly sensitive and gives consistent signal-to-noise ratios