A Novel Labeling Approach Identifies Three Stability Levels of Acetylcholine Receptors in the Mouse Neuromuscular Junction In Vivo

Abstract

A novel assay to determine kinetics of acetylcholine receptor turnover with small animal numbers is presented. Our data show that nerve activity acts on muscle acetylcholine receptor stability by at least two different means, one shifting receptor lifetime from short to intermediate and another, which further increases receptor stability to a long lifetime. We hypothesize on possible molecular mechanisms.