Caveolin-3 differentially orchestrates cholinergic and serotonergic constriction of murine airways.

The mechanisms of controlling airway smooth muscle (ASM) tone are of utmost clinical importance as inappropriate constriction is a hallmark in asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Receptors for acetylcholine and serotonin, two relevant mediators in this context, appear to be incorporated in specialized, cholesterol-rich domains of the plasma membrane, termed caveolae due to their invaginated shape. The structural protein caveolin-1 partly accounts for anchoring of these receptors. We here determined the role of the other major caveolar protein, caveolin-3 (cav-3), in orchestrating cholinergic and serotonergic ASM responses, utilizing newly generated cav-3 deficient mice. Cav-3 deficiency fully abrogated serotonin-induced constriction of extrapulmonary airways in organ baths while leaving intrapulmonary airways unaffected, as assessed in precision cut lung slices. The selective expression of cav-3 in tracheal, but not intrapulmonary bronchial epithelial cells, revealed by immunohistochemistry, might explain the differential effects of cav-3 deficiency on serotonergic ASM constriction. The cholinergic response of extrapulmonary airways was not altered, whereas a considerable increase was observed in cav-3-/- intrapulmonary bronchi. Thus, cav-3 differentially organizes serotonergic and cholinergic signaling in ASM through mechanisms that are specific for airways of certain caliber and anatomical position. This may allow for selective and site-specific intervention in hyperreactive states.

Phosphocholine - an agonist of metabotropic but not of ionotropic functions of α9-containing nicotinic acetylcholine receptors.

We demonstrated previously that phosphocholine and phosphocholine-modified macromolecules efficiently inhibit ATP-dependent release of interleukin-1ß from human and murine monocytes by a mechanism involving nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChR). Interleukin-1ß is a potent pro-inflammatory cytokine of innate immunity that plays pivotal roles in host defence. Control of interleukin-1ß release is vital as excessively high systemic levels cause life threatening inflammatory diseases. In spite of its structural similarity to acetylcholine, there are no other reports on interactions of phosphocholine with nAChR. In this study, we demonstrate that phosphocholine inhibits ion-channel function of ATP receptor P2X7 in monocytic cells via nAChR containing α9 and α10 subunits. In stark contrast to choline, phosphocholine does not evoke ion current responses in Xenopus laevis oocytes, which heterologously express functional homomeric nAChR composed of α9 subunits or heteromeric receptors containing α9 and α10 subunits. Preincubation of these oocytes with phosphocholine, however, attenuated choline-induced ion current changes, suggesting that phosphocholine may act as a silent agonist. We conclude that phophocholine activates immuno-modulatory nAChR expressed by monocytes but does not stimulate canonical ionotropic receptor functions.

Identification of cholinergic chemosensory cells in mouse tracheal and laryngeal glandular ducts.

Specialized epithelial cells in the respiratory tract such as solitary chemosensory cells and brush cells sense the luminal content and initiate protective reflexes in response to the detection of potentially harmful substances. The majority of these cells are cholinergic and utilize the canonical taste signal transduction cascade to detect "bitter" substances such as bacterial quorum sensing molecules. Utilizing two different mouse strains reporting expression of choline acetyltransferase (ChAT), the synthesizing enzyme of acetylcholine (ACh), we detected cholinergic cells in the submucosal glands of the murine larynx and trachea. These cells were localized in the ciliated glandular ducts and were neither found in the collecting ducts nor in alveolar or tubular segments of the glands. ChAT expression in tracheal gland ducts was confirmed by in situ hybridization. The cholinergic duct cells expressed the brush cell marker proteins, villin and cytokeratin-18, and were immunoreactive for components of the taste signal transduction cascade (Gα-gustducin, transient receptor potential melastatin-like subtype 5 channel = TRPM5, phospholipase C(ß2)), but not for carbonic anhydrase IV. Furthermore, these cells expressed the bitter taste receptor Tas2r131, as demonstrated utilizing an appropriate reporter mouse strain. Our study identified a previously unrecognized presumptive chemosensory cell type in the duct of the airway submucosal glands that likely utilizes ACh for paracrine signaling. We propose that these cells participate in infection-sensing mechanisms and initiate responses assisting bacterial clearance from the lower airways.