Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 15, 2026

Localization of Plasma Membrane and Intracellular Neuronal Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors Using Quantitative Imaging in Mammalian Cells
Published on: December 19, 2025
Autoantibody-induced internalization of nicotinic acetylcholine receptor α3 subunit exogenously expressed in human
Shota Kobayashi1, Shigeru Yokoyama, Takahiro Maruta
1Laboratory of Alternative Medicine and Experimental Therapeutics, Department of Clinical Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Hokuriku University, Kanazawa, Ishikawa 920-1181, Japan.
Abstract:
Autoantibody against nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) α3 subunit has been implicated in the pathogenesis of paraneoplastic neurological syndrome. To examine the effect of anti-α3 subunit autoantibody on cell-surface nAChRs, we established human embryonic kidney 293 cells stably co-expressing α3 and β4 subunits. Upon incubation with seropositive patient's serum, this cell line showed co-accumulation of patient's IgG and α3 subunits in the cytoplasm. These data support the hypothesis that anti-α3 subunit autoantibody induces internalization of cell-surface nAChRs and thereby impairs synaptic transmission.
More Related Videos
07:20A Simple Cell-based Immunofluorescence Assay to Detect Autoantibody Against the N-Methyl-D-Aspartate (NMDA) Receptor in Blood
Published on: January 9, 2018
08:13An Antibody Feeding Approach to Study Glutamate Receptor Trafficking in Dissociated Primary Hippocampal Cultures
Published on: August 2, 2019