In the mammalian myocardium, ACh, which is the main neurotransmitter of cardiac parasympathetic postganglionic fibres, can be released via both quantal (vesicular) and non-quantal (non-vesicular) mechanisms of secretion. Non-quantal release is continuous and independent of vagus activity and exocytosis of ACh-containing vesicles. During the incubation of myocardium in the presence of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitors, non-quantal ACh release leads to accumulation of ACh in the myocardium and cholinergic effects, which are proportional to the intensity of non-quantal secretion. The aim of the present study was to reveal whether non-quantal release of ACh can be modulated by another major cardioregulator, noradrenaline, or whether it represents uncontrolled leakage of ACh from cholinergic fibres. Cholinergic changes of electrical activity induced by the AChE inhibitor paraoxon (5 x 10(-6) m) in isolated rat right atrial preparations were determined by means of a standard microlectrode technique and used as a measure of the intensity of non-quantal release. Noradrenaline (10(-7) and 10(-6) m) substantially suppressed, but did not abolish, effects of paraoxon via stimulation of alpha-adrenoceptors, because all experiments were conducted in the presence of the beta-blocker propranolol (5 x 10(-6) m). A blocker of ganglionic transmission, hexamethonium bromide (10(-4) m), failed to alter the inhibitory effect of noradrenaline, indicating that only non-quantal ACh release is suppressed by this neurotransmitter. The effects of noradrenaline could be reduced by the alpha2-antagonist yohimbine (10(-6) m). However, both the alpha1-agonist phenylephrine (10(-6) m) and the alpha2-agonist clonidine (10(-6) m) significantly inhibited the cholinergic effects of paraoxon, indicating the possible involvement of both alpha-adrenoceptor subtypes in mediation of the adrenergic inhibition of non-quantal ACh release. Thus, cardiac non-quantal ACh release can be negatively regulated by noradrenaline, providing another facet of sympathetic-parasympathetic interaction in the heart.
AIMS: In mammalian myocardium acetylcholine (ACh), neurotransmitter which strikingly affects the cardiomyocytes, can be released from the neurons both via quantal (vesicular) and nonquantal (non-vesicular) mechanism of secretion. Non-quantal release is continuous, independent on vagus activity and provides accumulation of ACh in myocardium in the presence of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitors. The aim of the present study was to determine the source of non-quantal ACh in isolated atrial myocardium of adult and newborn rats. MAIN METHODS: Standard microelectrode technique was used to determine the cholinergic changes of electrical activity under the action of AChE inhibitor paraoxon, which correlates with the intensity of nonquantal ACh release. KEY FINDINGS: In adult rats selective inhibitor of neuronal choline uptake system hemicholinium III (10(-5) M) decreased all effects of paraoxon (5 x 10(-6) M) more than twofold. Inhibitor of polyspecific 3 organic cation transporters corticosterone (10(-4) M) also significantly decreased effects of paraoxon in adult rats, indicating that non-neuronal ACh, which is synthesized by cardiomyocytes, takes part in accumulation of ACh in the myocardium. When hemicholinium III and corticosterone were applied together, paraoxon effects in adult atrial myocardium were suppressed almost completely. In newborn rats cardiomyocytes do not excrete ACh. In accordance with this fact hemicholinium III completely abolished effects of paraoxon in newborn myocardium, while corticosterone was ineffective. Thus, non-quantal ACh is released both from cholinergic nerves and cardiomyocytes in adult rat myocardium, while it has exclusively neuronal nature in newborns. SIGNIFICANCE: The study demonstrates dual neuronal and non-neuronal nature of non-quantal ACh in the heart.
Title: Effects of acetylcholinesterase inhibitor paraoxon denote the possibility of non-quantal acetylcholine release in myocardium of different vertebrates Abramochkin DV, Borodinova AA, Rosenshtraukh LV Ref: J Comp Physiol B, 182:101, 2012 : PubMed
Effects of organophosphorous acetylcholinesterase inhibitor paraoxon were studied in the isolated atrial and ventricular myocardium preparations of a fish (cod), an amphibian (frog) and a mammal (rat) using the microelectrode technique. Incubation of isolated atrium with paraoxon (5 x 10(-6)-5 x 10(-5) M) caused significant reduction of action potential duration and marked slowing of sinus rhythm. These effects were abolished by muscarinic blocker atropine and therefore are caused by acetylcholine, which accumulates in the myocardium due to acetylcholinesterase inhibition even in the absence of vagal input. Hemicholinium III is a blocker of high affinity choline-uptake transporters, which are believed to mediate non-quantal release of acetylcholine from cholinergic terminals in different tissues. In the atrial myocardium of all the three studied species, hemicholinium III (10(-5) M) significantly suppressed all the effects of paraoxon. Blocker of parasympathetic ganglionic transmission hexamethonium bromide (10(-4) M) and inhibitor of vesicular acetylcholine transporters vesamicol (10(-5) M) failed to attenuate paraoxon effects. Among ventricular myocardium preparations of three species paraoxon provoked marked cholinergic effects only in frog, hemicholinium III abolished these effects effectively. We conclude that paraoxon stops degradation of acetylcholine in the myocardium and helps to reveal the effects of acetylcholine, which is continuously secreted from the cholinergic nerves in non-quantal manner. Thus, non-quantal release of acetylcholine in the heart is not specific only for mammals, but is also present in the hearts of different vertebrates.
Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitors provoke typical cholinergic effects in the isolated right atrium of the rat due to the accumulation of acetylcholine (ACh). Our study was designed to show that in the absence of vagal impulse activity, ACh is released from the parasympathetic nerve fibres by means of non-quantal secretion. The conventional microelectrode technique was used to study changes in action potential (AP) configuration in the right atrium preparation of rats during application of AChE inhibitors. Staining with the lipophilic fluorescent dye FM1-43 was used to demonstrate the presence of endocytosis in cholinergic endings. The AChE inhibitors armin (10(7)-10(5)m) and neostigmine (10(7) to 5 x 10(6)m) caused a reduction of AP duration and prolonged the cycle length. These effects were abolished by atropine and were therefore mediated by ACh accumulated in the myocardium during AChE inhibition. Putative block of impulse activity of the postganglionic neurons by tetrodotoxin (5 x 10(7)m) and blockade of ganglionic transmission by hexomethonium (2 x 10(4)m), as well as blockade of all forms of quantal release with Clostridium botulinum type A toxin (50 U ml(1)), did not alter the effects of armin. Experiments with FM1-43 dye confirmed the effective block of exocytosis by botulinum toxin. Selective inhibition of the choline uptake system using hemicholinium III (10(5)m), which blocks non-quantal release at the neuromuscular junction, suppressed the effects of AChE inhibitors. Thus, accumulation of ACh is likely to be caused by non-quantal release from cholinergic terminals. We propose that non-quantal release of ACh, shown previously at the neuromuscular junction, is present in cholinergic postganglionic fibres of the rat heart in addition to quantal release.
We have investigated effect of a representative of the novel class of selective acetylcholinesterase inhibitors A 1,3-bis[5(diethyl-o-nitrobenzyl ammonio) penthyl]-6-methyluracildibromide (compound 547) on duration and rhythm of sequence of right atrial action potential (AP) as well as on kinetics of acetylcholinesterase catalyzed reaction in homogenates of skeletal muscle (m. extensor digitorum longus) and cardiac muscle in the rat. We have shown that contrary to classical acetylcholinesterase inhibitors armin and proserin none of studied concentrations (1, 10 and 100 nM) of compound 547 exerted significant effect on AP configuration and rate of sinus rhythm. Compound 547 belongs to noncompetitive type with K1(heart)=3.6 x 10(-4) M and K1(EDL)=1.3 x 10(-8) M. Proserin exerts comparable inhibitory action on reaction in the heart and skeletal muscle, its K1(heart)=0.73 x 10(-5) M and K1(EDL) = 0.4 x 10(-5) M. Thus low sensitivity of myocardium to compound 547 in electrophysiological experiments is not related to lesser availability of synaptic acetylcholinesterase in the heart compared with acetylcholinesterase in skeletal muscles but reaction catalyzed by cardiac acetylcholinesterase is actually to a substantial degree less prone to inhibition by compound 547.
We compared the effects of the novel acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitor C-547 on action potential configuration and sinus rhythm in the isolated right atrium preparation of rat with those of armin and neostigmine. Both armin (10(-7), 10(-6), and 10(-5) M) and neostigmine (10(-7), 10(-6), and 5 x 10(-6) M) produced a marked decrease in action potential duration and slowing of sinus rate. These effects were abolished by atropine and are attributable to the accumulation of acetylcholine in the myocardium. The novel selective AChE inhibitor C-547 (10(-9) to 10(-7) M), an alkylammonium derivative of 6-methyluracil, had no such effects. The inhibition constant of C-547 on cardiac AChE is 40-fold higher than that on extensor digitorum longus muscle AChE. These results suggest that C-547 might be employed to treat diseases such as myasthenia gravis or Alzheimer disease, without having unwanted effects on the heart.
