The effect of forskolin on the response of acetylcholine receptors in frog sartorius endplate

Abstract

The effects of forskolin, a potent activator of adenylate cyclase, were examined on the frog neuromuscular junction. The depolarization elicited by ionophoretically applied acetylcholine was markedly reduced in amplitude and its time course was speeded up after treatment with 20-100 microM forskolin. The amplitude of extracellularly recorded miniature endplate potentials was decreased by the same factor as that of ionophoretically evoked responses and their decay time constant became shorter. All these changes, but not the shortening of spontaneous responses, were produced by 3-isobutyl-1-methylxantine and by N6-2'-O-dibutyryl cyclic AMP, both known to elevate intracellular cAMP. Forskolin-induced actions can be thus ascribed to the activation of cAMP-dependent protein kinase and to a direct effect on acetylcholine receptor channel.