M. Gopalakrishnan et al., STABLE EXPRESSION AND PHARMACOLOGICAL PROPERTIES OF THE HUMAN ALPHA(7) NICOTINIC ACETYLCHOLINE-RECEPTOR, European journal of pharmacology. Molecular pharmacology section, 290(3), 1995, pp. 237-246
The alpha(7) neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptor subtype forms a
Ca2+-permeable homooligomeric ion channel sensitive to alpha-bungarot
oxin in Xenopus oocytes. In this study, we have stably and functionall
y expressed the human alpha(7) cDNA in a mammalian cell line, HEK-293
and examined its pharmacologic properties. [I-125]alpha-Bungarotoxin b
ound to transfected cells with a K-d value of 0.7 nM and a B-max value
of 973 pmol/mg protein. No specific binding was detected in untransfe
cted cells. Specific binding could be displaced by unlabeled alpha-bun
garotoxin (K-i = 0.5 nM) and an excellent correlation was observed bet
ween binding affinities of a series of nicotinic cholinergic ligands i
n transfected cells and those in the human neuroblastoma IMR-32 cell l
ine. Additionally, cell surface expression of alpha(7) receptors was d
etected by fluorescein isothiocyanate-conjugated alpha-bungarotoxin in
transfected cells. Whole cell currents sensitive to blockade by a-bun
garotoxin, and with fast kinetics of activation and inactivation, were
recorded from transfected cells upon rapid application of (-)-nicotin
e or acetylcholine with EC(50) values of 49 mu M and 155 mu M respecti
vely. We conclude that the human alpha(7) subunit when expressed alone
can form functional ion channels and that the stably transfected HEK-
293 cell line serves as a unique system for studying human alpha(7) ni
cotinic receptor function and regulation, and for examining ligand int
eractions.