pharm of NMJ - Kruseyyy Flashcards
Agents that affect the nerve action potential
a) Tetrodotoxin
b) Local anesthetics
Agents that affect vesicular acetylcholine release
a) Botulinum toxin
b) Tetanus toxin
Agents that affect depolarization
a) Neuromuscular blocking drugs
i) Curare alkaloids (
d-tubocurarine)
ii) Succinylcholine
Agents that affect the muscle action potential
Tetrodotoxin (also affects nerve AP)
Agents that affect muscle contraction
Dantrolene - inhibits ryanodine receptors i nsarcoplasmic reticulum and blocks release of Ca2+
- clinical uses include malignant hyperthermia, spasticity associated with upper motor neuron disorders
activated by ACh and are mostly found in the
membranes of postsynaptic muscle cells (also found
on the prejunctional neuronal membrane)
Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs)
axonal conduction
The passage of an impulse (action potential) along an axon or muscle fiber
Junctional transmission
The passage of an action potential across a synaptic junction
facilitates the transport of choline from the plasma into neurons
choline transporter
The choline transport system is dependent on
extracellular Na
+ with both choline and
Na+ cotransported at the same time
Choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) function? where are the substrates coming from?
Combines the acetyl moiety of acetyl coenzyme A
with choline in the cytoplasm of the neuron (final step in the synthesis of ACh)
(b) ACh is immediately sequestered within synaptic
vesicles after synthesis
(c) Acetyl CoA is synthesized in the mitochondria a
and choline is taken up via the choline transporter
why are ChAT inhibitors of little use
uptake of choline is the rate-limiting step in ACh biosynthesis
ACh is actively taken up by the storage vesicle
s at the nerve terminals by the ATPase-
dependent
ACh vesicular transporter
When the action potential reaches the axonal te
rminal,
depolarization causes voltage- gated calcium (Ca 2+) channels to open and Ca 2+ enters the neuron (2) Elevated Ca 2+ levels promote the fusion of the vesicular membran e with the cell membrane and exocytosis of ACh occurs
categories of snares, names and function
- vesicle (V-SNAREs) - synaptobrevin/ vesiscle associated membrane protein, VAMP)
- t-SNARE proteins syntaxin and SNAP-25
^ they interact together to form core SNARE complex bringing vescile and presynaptic membranes into clsoe contact
Upon arrival of the action potential in the axonal terminal, calcium rushes in and
interacts with the calcium sensor protein —– on the vesicle membrane,
which triggers vesicle fusion and exocytosis
synaptotagmin
After release of ACh into the synaptic cleft, two proteins ( ????) bind to the SNARE complex and disassemble the
SNAREs, which causes
recycling of the vesicle and SNARE proteins
(α-SNAP and the ATPase NSF)
ACh diffuses across the synaptic cleft and combines with nAChRs on skeletal muscle fibers, which causes
entration gradients)
the receptor channel to open and allow Na+ to enter the muscle fiber and K+ to exit (both traveling down their respective conc. gradient)
cleaves ACh into acetate and choline
Acetylcholinesterase
(AChE)
Vesicle formation is initiated a few seconds after each action potential by the appearance of the protein
clathrin, a contractile p
rotein that coats the pits and is
involved in endocytosis