EXPRESSION OF 2 NEURONAL NICOTINIC RECEPTOR SUBUNITS IN INNERVATED AND DENERVATED ADULT-RAT MUSCLE

The presence of transcripts coding for various alpha and beta subunits of neuronal acetylcholine receptors was investigated using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) on RNA extracted from innervated and denervated adult rat muscles. The results indicate that mRNAs coding for the neur onal alpha 4 and beta 2 subunits are expressed by adult muscles. Unlik e avian embryonic muscle tissue, mRNA coding for alpha 7 and beta 4 su bunit was undetectable. Denervation did not significantly modify the e xpression levels of the alpha 4 and beta 2 subunit-specific mRNAs. The results complement our previous immunohistochemical data and suggest that neuronal acetylcholine receptors are expressed by adult muscle ti ssue and may play a role in the control of muscle function.