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Updated: May 28, 2026

Subcutaneous Administration of Muscarinic Antagonists and Triple-Immunostaining of the Levator Auris Longus Muscle in Mice
Published on: September 8, 2011
Cholinergic impact on neuroplasticity drives muscarinic M1 receptor mediated differentiation into neurons
Jens Benninghoff1, Werner Rauh, Victor Brantl
1Department of Psychiatry, LMU-University of Munich, Munich, Germany. jens.benninghoff@med.uni-muenchen.de
Objectives:
Increasing evidence indicates that canonical neurotransmitters act as regulatory signals during neuroplasticity. Here, we report that muscarinic cholinergic neurotransmission stimulates differentiation of adult neural stem cells in vitro.
Methods:
Adult neural stem cells (ANSC) dissociated from the adult mouse hippocampus were expanded in culture with basic fibroblast growth factor (BFGF) and epidermal growth factor (EGF).
Results:
Carbachol (CCh), an analog of acetylcholine (ACh) significantly enhanced de novo differentiation into neurons on bFGF- and EGF-deprived stem cells as shown by the percentage of TUJ1 positive cells. By contrast, pirenzepine (PIR), a muscarinic M1 receptor antagonist, reduced the generation of neurons.
Conclusion:
Activation of cholinergic signaling drives the de novo differentiation of uncommitted stem cells into neurons. These effects appear to be predominantly mediated via the muscarinic M1 receptor subtype.
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