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Tetra-butyl ammonium attenuates evoked release of acetylcholine from mouse hemidiaphragm preparation
H Miyakawa1, H Iwasaka, T Zelles
1Department of Anesthesiology, Oita Medical University, Hasama-machi, Oita, Japan.
Abstract:
Tetra-butyl ammonium is a homologous member of mono-quaternary ammonium salts, and it has been reported to have a property of nondepolarizing neuromuscular relaxant. However, no neurochemical evidences exist that tetra-butyl ammonium may interfere with quantal release of acetylcholine from motor nerve terminals. In this study, using the neurochemical method, we investigated the effect of tetra-butyl ammonium on stimulation-evoked release of acetylcholine from mouse hemidiaphragm preparation. The preparation was loaded with [3H]choline (5 microCi/ml). Low concentrations of tetra-butyl ammonium (10(-5) M) had no effects. On the other hand, at concentrations of 4x10(-5) and 10(-4) M, this compound significantly reduced the [Ca2+]o-dependent release of acetylcholine from phrenic nerves. This finding indicates that tetra-butyl ammonium possesses a presynaptic inhibitory effect on acetylcholine release from the phrenic nerve terminal.
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