Author(s): Brennan Motes, Benjamin Lewis, Jonny McEntire, Baird Reynolds, Carter Ulrich, Matthew Anderson, Talon Anderson, James Brume, Tanner Carter, Kelton Couperus, Eliza Crossman, Russell Cutler, Tate Giles, Lizzie Goss, Lola Heninger, Alexa Jones, Donald Palmer, Brian Powell, Brandt Stratton, Melissa Terry
Mentor(s): Sterling Sudweeks
Institution BYU
Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) are neurotransmitter-gated ion channels important for synaptic signaling in the brain. Specific pentameric combinations of their subunits can impact how they function. Using single-cell quantitative PCR, we analyzed the expression levels of various nAChR subunits in rat CA1 hippocampal neurons. Our results show that there are several different subtypes of these nAChRs in the hippocampus. However, our findings suggest that subtypes containing the α3 and β2 subunits may be prominent in this particular population of neurons. These results highlight the diversity of nAChR subtypes in the hippocampus and suggest that the α3β2 receptor could be a useful target for treating hippocampus-related conditions since this represents a subunit combination not found in other brain areas. Given that the hippocampus is crucial in memory, processing, and learning, the function of α3β2 nAChRs could lead to potential pharmacological insights and opportunities to affect memory function. This study focuses on the characterization of α3 and β2 containing nAChRs exogenously expressed in Xenopus laevis oocytes. This expression system provides a tool for the potential discovery of hippocampus-specific drugs that work as positive allosteric modulators, which would increase the activity of these receptors. It is hypothesized that such compounds would be useful in enhancing cognition, thereby improving the quality of life for patients with conditions like Alzheimer's Disease, where memory function is severely affected.