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Pattern of presynaptic nerve activity can determine the type of neurotransmitter regulating a postsynaptic event

Nature volume 311, pages 472–474 (1984)Cite this article

Abstract

The mammalian superior cervical ganglion has been the classical preparation for studying cholinergic transmission between neurones1–3. Recently, however, evidence has been presented showing that, in addition to the postsynaptic changes mediated via nicotinic and muscarinic receptors, there is a non-cholinergic component to transmission in this ganglion4,5, as in frog paravertebral ganglia6,7. In the rabbit superior cervical ganglion, Ashe and Libet recorded a late, slow excitatory postsynaptic potential in response to preganglionic nerve stimulation in the presence of nicotinic and muscarinic antagonists4. We have found, in the rat superior cervical ganglion, that a postsynaptic biochemical consequence of preganglionic nerve stimulation, namely the acute activation of tyrosine 3-monooxygenase (tyrosine hydroxylase, TH; EC 1.14.16.2), is mediated in part by acetylcholine and in part by a non-cholinergic neurotransmitter5. The regulation of this enzyme activity is of particular interest because it catalyses the rate-limiting step in the biosynthesis of the postganglionic neurotransmitter, noradrenaline. In the present paper, we report that the relative importance of cholinergic and non-cholinergic transmission in the regulation of TH activity varies with the pattern of electrical stimulation of the preganglionic nerve trunk.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, 02115, USA

    Nancy Y. Ip & Richard E. Zigmond

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  1. Nancy Y. Ip
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  2. Richard E. Zigmond
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Ip, N., Zigmond, R. Pattern of presynaptic nerve activity can determine the type of neurotransmitter regulating a postsynaptic event. Nature 311, 472–474 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1038/311472a0

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