Variability in the Drug Response of M4 Muscarinic Receptor Knockout Mice During Day and Night Time

Mice are nocturnal animals. Surprisingly, the majority of physiological/pharmacological studies are performed in the morning, i.e., in the non-active phase of their diurnal cycle. We have shown recently that female (not male) mice lacking the M4 muscarinic receptors (MR, M4KO) did not differ substantially in locomotor activity from their wild-type counterparts (C57Bl/6Tac) during the inactive period. Increased locomotion has been shown in the active phase of their diurnal cycle. We compared the effects of scopolamine, oxotremorine, and cocaine on locomotor response, hypothermia and spontaneous behavior in the open field arena in the morning (9:00 AM) and in the evening (9:00 PM) in WT and in C57Bl/6NTac mice lacking the M4 MR. Furthermore, we also studied morning vs. evening densities of muscarinic, GABAA, D1-like, D2-like, NMDA and kainate receptors using autoradiography in the motor, somatosensory and visual cortex and in the striatum, thalamus, hippocampus, pons, and medulla oblongata. At 9:00 AM, scopolamine induced an increase in motor activity in WT and in M4KO, yet no significant increase was observed at 9:00 PM. Oxotremorine induced hypothermic effects in both WT and M4KO. Hypothermic effects were more evident in WT than in M4KO. Hypothermia in both cases was more pronounced at 9:00 AM than at 9:00 PM. Cocaine increased motor activity when compared to saline. There was no difference in behavior in the open field between WT and M4KO when tested at 9:00 AM; however, at 9:00 PM, activity of M4KO was doubled in comparison to that of WT. Both WT and KO animals spent less time climbing in their active phase. Autoradiography revealed no significant morning vs. evening difference. Altogether, our results indicate the necessity of comparing morning vs. evening drug effect

Adaptation of the central nervous system to the absence of acetylcholinesterase

L acétylcholinestérase (AChE) hydrolyse efficacement l acétylcholine (ACh). L inhibition de l AChE est souvent létale et des souris sans AChE dans tous les tissus (AChE KO) sont sévèrement atteintes. Dans le cerveau, l AChE est ancré dans les membranes par PRiMA (proline-rich membrane anchor), alors que dans les muscles, l AChE est ancré par le collagène Q (ColQ) dans la lame basale. Nous rapportons ici que les souris PRIMA KO, dans lesquelles l AChE est principalement éliminée dans le cerveau, montrent très peu de modifications du comportement. Cette absence contraste avec les modifications profondes des souris AChE KO ou des souris dans lesquelles l AChE ne peut interagir ni avec ColQ ni avec PRiMA alors que l excès d ACh et les modifications des récepteurs à l ACh sont similaires. Les souris PRiMA KO diffèrent aussi des autres lignées avec un déficit en AChE dans leurs réponses aux inhibiteurs d AChE. Nos résultats suggèrent que l AChE dans les tissus périphériques représente la cible majeure de l inhibition de l AChE et que l absence d AChE dans ces tissus périphériques cause le phénotype des souris AChE KO.Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) effectively hydrolyzes acetylcholine (ACh). The inhibition of AChE is generally lethal and mice without AChE in all tissues (AChE KO) have severe impairments. In the brain, AChE is anchored in the plasma membrane by proline-rich membrane anchor (PRiMA), while in the muscles, AChE is anchored by collagen Q (ColQ) in the basal lamina. We report here that the PRIMA KO mice, in which AChE is essentially eliminated in the brain, show very little changes in behavior despite an excess of ACh in the brain and adaptation of ACh receptors comparable to those seen in AChE KO mice. Moreover, when AChE cannot interact with ColQ and PRIMA, the phenotype resembles that of AChE KO mice, but the biochemical changes in the brain are similar to those in PRiMA KO mice. PRiMA KO mice also differ from other AChE-deficit mice strains in their responses to AChE inhibitor. Our results suggest that AChE in the peripheral tissues is the major target of AChE inhibitors and AChE absence in the peripheral tissues is the leading cause of the phenotype of AChE KO mice.PARIS-BIUSJ-Biologie recherche (751052107) / SudocSudocFranceF

Developmental adaptation of central nervous system to extremely high acetylcholine levels.

Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) is a key enzyme in termination of fast cholinergic transmission. In brain, acetylcholine (ACh) is produced by cholinergic neurons and released in extracellular space where it is cleaved by AChE anchored by protein PRiMA. Recently, we showed that the lack of AChE in brain of PRiMA knock-out (KO) mouse increased ACh levels 200-300 times. The PRiMA KO mice adapt nearly completely by the reduction of muscarinic receptor (MR) density. Here we investigated changes in MR density, AChE, butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) activity in brain in order to determine developmental period responsible for such adaptation. Brains were studied at embryonal day 18.5 and postnatal days (pd) 0, 9, 30, 120, and 425. We found that the AChE activity in PRiMA KO mice remained very low at all studied ages while in wild type (WT) mice it gradually increased till pd120. BChE activity in WT mice gradually decreased until pd9 and then increased by pd120, it continually decreased in KO mice till pd30 and remained unchanged thereafter. MR number increased in WT mice till pd120 and then became stable. Similarly, MR increased in PRiMA KO mice till pd30 and then remained stable, but the maximal level reached is approximately 50% of WT mice. Therefore, we provide the evidence that adaptive changes in MR happen up to pd30. This is new phenomenon that could contribute to the explanation of survival and nearly unchanged phenotype of PRiMA KO mice

Autoradiography of 3H-pirenzepine and 3H-AFDX-384 in Mouse Brain Regions: Possible Insights into M1, M2, and M4 Muscarinic Receptors Distribution

Autoradiography helps to determine the distribution and density of muscarinic receptor (MR) binding sites in the brain. However, it relies on the selectivity of radioligands toward their target. 3H-Pirenzepine is commonly believed to label predominantly M1MR, 3H-AFDX-384 is considered as M2MR selective ligand. Here we performed series of autoradiographies with 3H-AFDX-384 (2 nM), and 3H-pirenzepine (5 nM) in WT, M1KO, M2KO, and M4KO mice to address the ligand selectivity. Labeling with 3H-pirenzepine using M1KO, M2KO, and M4KO brain sections showed the high selectivity toward M1MR. Selectivity of 3H-AFDX-384 toward M2MR varies among brain regions and depends on individual MR subtype proportion. All binding sites in the medulla oblongata and pons, correspond to M2MR. In caudate putamen, nucleus accumbens and olfactory tubercle, 77.7, 74.2, and 74.6% of 3H-AFDX-384 binding sites, respectively, are represented by M4MR and M2MR constitute only a minor portion. In cortex and hippocampus, 3H-AFDX-384 labels almost similar amounts of M2MR and M4MR alongside significant amounts of non-M2/non-M4MR. In cortex, the proportion of 3H-AFDX-384 binding sites attributable to M2MR can be increased by blocking M4MR with MT3 toxin without affecting non-M4MR. PD102807, which is considered as a highly selective M4MR antagonist failed to improve the discrimination of M2MR. Autoradiography with 3H-QNB showed genotype specific loss of binding sites. In conclusion: while 3H-pirenzepine showed the high selectivity toward M1MR, 3H-AFDX-384 binding sites represent different populations of MR subtypes in a brain-region-specific manner. This finding has to be taken into account when interpreting the binding data

Correlation between AChE activity (abscissa) and MR density (ordinate).

<p>Top: Correlation in WT animals, bottom correlation in KO animals. In KO, there were no correlation, in WT we have able to discover significant correlation p<0.0001, Pearson r = 0.9727.</p

The development of number of binding sites in the brain of PRiMA WT and PRiMA KO mice.

<p>Abscissa: day of the development (E18.5, embryonal day 18.5; P0, postnatal day 0; P9, postnatal day 9; P30, postnatal day 30; P120, postnatal day 120; P425, postnatal day 425). Ordinate: the number of muscarinic receptor binding sites expressed as Bmax [fmol/mg protein]. ***p<0.001, significantly different from PRiMA +/+. ^#p<0.05, significantly different from previous day of development, ^##p<0.01, significantly different from previous day of development. ^###p<0.001 significantly different from previous day of development.</p

Near-complete adaptation of the PRiMA knockout to the lack of central acetylcholinesterase

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