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Updated: Aug 23, 2026

Local Application of Drugs to Study Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor Function in Mouse Brain Slices
Published on: October 29, 2012
Nicotinic acetylcholine receptor alpha5 subunits modulate oxotremorine-induced salivation and tremor
Ningshan Wang1, Avi Orr-Urtreger, Joab Chapman
1Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Sackler Medical School, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.
Abstract:
Neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) are composed of 12 subunits (alpha2-alpha10 and beta2-beta4). alpha5 Subunits, expressed throughout the central nervous system (CNS) and the autonomic nervous system (ANS), possess unique pharmacological properties. The effects of oxotremorine (OXO) on autonomic functions and tremor were examined in mice lacking alpha5 nAChR subunits (alpha5-/-) and compared with those in wild-type (WT) control mice. The alpha5-/- mice showed significantly increased salivation and tremor responses to OXO. The hypothermia, bradycardia and defecation induced by OXO were of similar magnitudes in the two mouse strains. The enhanced OXO effects in alpha5-/- mice indicate inhibitory effects of alpha5 subunits in autonomic ganglia, and support the participation of these subunits in cholinergic transmission in autonomic ganglia.
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