Distribution of the alfa2, alfa3, and alfa5 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor subunits in the chick brain

ABSTRACT

Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) are ionotropic receptors comprised of alpha and beta subunits. These receptors are widely distributed in the central nervous system, and previous studies have revealed specific patterns of localization for some nAChR subunits in the vertebrate brain. In the present study we used immunohistochemical methods and monoclonal antibodies to localize the alpha2, alpha3, and alpha5 nAChR subunits in the chick mesencephalon and diencephalon. We observed a differential distribution of these three subunits in the chick brain, and showed that the somata and neuropil of many central structures contain the alpha5 nAChR subunit. The alpha2 and alpha3 subunits, on the other hand, exhibited a more restricted distribution than alpha5 and other subunits previously studied, namely alpha7, alpha8 and beta2. The patterns of distribution of the different nAChR subunits suggest that neurons in many brain structures may contain several subtypes of nAChRs and that in a few regions one particular subtype may determine the cholinergic nicotinic responses.