Acetylcholine receptor kinetics at slow fiber neuromuscular junctions

Abstract

Acetylcholine receptors in slow fiber neuromuscular junctions of garter snake (sp. Thamnophis) produced synaptic responses that were more complicated than those observed from twitch fibers. Although the slow fiber miniature end plate currents decayed monoexponentially with time, both the current fluctuations spectrum and the voltage jump end plate current required two temporal components for good theoretical fits. This behavior was accurately accounted for by a generalized version of the three-state kinetic model by del Castillo and Katz. Application of the model allowed not only the rate of channel closing to be estimated, but also the rate of channel opening (from the closed state with acetylcholine bound) and the apparent rate of acetylcholine unbinding from the receptor. The results suggest that at the peak of the miniature end plate current local receptor saturation occurs.