Membrane lipid microdomains are necessary for clustering of alpha7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in somatic spines of chick ciliary ganglion neurons Meeting Abstract

  


Authors: Bruses, J. L.; Chauvet, N.; Rutishauser, U.
Abstract Title: Membrane lipid microdomains are necessary for clustering of alpha7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in somatic spines of chick ciliary ganglion neurons
Meeting Title: 30th Meeting of the Society for Neuroscience
Abstract: The cytoplasmic membrane contains lipid microdomains called lipid rafts which can gather into microscopically visible clusters. Thus, the association of a particular protein with rafts can result in its redistribution. The present study asked whether lipid rafts participate in the formation and maintenance of alpha7 acetylcholine receptor clusters (alpha7nAChR) in somatic spines of ciliary neurons. Lipid rafts and alpha7nAChR become progressively co-localized within somatic spines during synaptogenesis. To determine whether rafts are required for alpha7nAChR clustering, cholesterol was extracted from dissociated ciliary neurons by treatment with methyl-b-cyclodextrin. This treatment causes the dispersion of rafts and disrupts the alpha7nAChR clusters, indicating that the integrity of lipid rafts is required to maintain the clustering the receptor. However, raft dispersion also caused the depolymerization of the F-actin cytoskeleton, which also can affect receptor clustering. Thus, to assess whether the interaction between rafts and alpha7nAChR was independent of F-actin filaments, ciliary neurons were incubated with the raft marker cholera toxin b (CTX), followed by an antibody against CTX to stabilize lipid rafts, and subsequently treated with latrunculin-A to depolymerize F-actin. Under these experimental conditions CTX clusters persisted and were co-localized with alphaBTX. These findings indicate that lipid rafts participate in the formation and maintenance of alpha7nAChR independently of F-actin filaments, suggesting a direct interaction between the lipid domain and the receptor.
Keywords: synaptogenesis; meeting abstract
Journal Title: Society for Neuroscience Abstracts
Volume: 26
Issue: Part 1
Meeting Dates: 2000 Nov 4-9
Meeting Location: New Orleans, LA
ISSN: 0190-5295
Publisher: Society for Neuroscience  
Date Published: 2000-01-01
Start Page: 370
Language: English
ACCESSION: BCI:BCI200100076246
PROVIDER: biosis
Notes: Meeting Abstract: 137.4 -- 30th Annual Meeting of the Society of Neuroscience -- New Orleans, LA, USA -- November 04-09, 2000 -- Society for Neuroscience -- Source: Biosis