Student Author(s)

Alison Philbrook; Belinda Barbagallo

Academic Program

Neuroscience

UMMS Affiliation

Department of Neurobiology; Francis Lab; Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Neuroscience Program

Publication Date

2013-07-01

Document Type

Article

Disciplines

Behavioral Neurobiology | Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience

Abstract

Nicotinic or ionotropic acetylcholine receptors (iAChRs) mediate excitatory signaling throughout the nervous system, and the heterogeneity of these receptors contributes to their multifaceted roles. Our recent work has characterized a single iAChR subunit, ACR-12, which contributes to two distinct iAChR subtypes within the C. elegans motor circuit. These two receptor subtypes regulate the coordinated activity of excitatory (cholinergic) and inhibitory (GABAergic) motor neurons. We have shown that the iAChR subunit ACR-12 is differentially expressed in both cholinergic and GABAergic motor neurons within the motor circuit. In cholinergic motor neurons, ACR-12 is incorporated into the previously characterized ACR-2 heteromeric receptor, which shows non-synaptic localization patterns and plays a modulatory role in controlling circuit function.(1) In contrast, a second population of ACR-12-containing receptors in GABAergic motor neurons, ACR-12GABA, shows synaptic expression and regulates inhibitory signaling.(2) Here, we discuss the two ACR-12-containing receptor subtypes, their distinct expression patterns, and functional roles in the C. elegans motor circuit. We anticipate our continuing studies of iAChRs in the C. elegans motor circuit will lead to novel insights into iAChR function in the nervous system as well as mechanisms for their regulation.

Keywords

Caenorhabditis elegans, electrophysiology, motor behavior, nicotinic receptor, synapse

Rights and Permissions

Copyright © 2013 Landes Bioscience. This is an open-access article licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License. The article may be redistributed, reproduced, and reused for non-commercial purposes, provided the original source is properly cited.

DOI of Published Version

10.4161/worm.25765

Source

Worm. 2013 Jul 1;2(3):e25765. doi: 10.4161/worm.25765. Epub 2013 Jul 17. Link to article on publisher's site

Journal/Book/Conference Title

Worm

Related Resources

Link to Article in PubMed

PubMed ID

24778941

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