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Updated: Sep 27, 2026

Local Application of Drugs to Study Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor Function in Mouse Brain Slices
Published on: October 29, 2012
Substance P modulates single-channel properties of neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors
L K Simmons1, S M Schuetze, L W Role
1Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, New York 10032.
Abstract:
Substance P (SP) is present in avian sympathetic ganglia and accelerates the decay rate of acetylcholine (ACh)-evoked macroscopic currents in sympathetic neurons. We demonstrate here that SP modulates ACh-elicited single channels in a manner consistent with an enhancement of ACh receptor (AChR) desensitization. Furthermore, since AChR channel function was monitored in cell-attached patches with SP applied to the extra-patch membrane, the peptide must act via a second messenger mechanism. SP specifically decreases the net ACh-activated single-channel current across the patch membrane by decreasing both channel opening frequency and mean open time kinetics. These experiments demonstrate that a peptide can modulate neuronal AChR function by a second messenger mechanism.
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