Tacrine interacts with an allosteric activator site on alpha 4 beta 2 nAChRs in M10 cells

THE effect of chronic treatment with the cholinesterase inhibitor tacrine on alpha 4 beta 2 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) was investigated in a transfected fibroblast cell line, M10. Tacrine significantly increased (+46%; 5 x 10(-8) to 10(-5) M) and decreased (-74%; 2 x 10(-5) to 10(-4) M) the number of nAChRs in the M10 cells in a concentration-dependent manner when using [H-3]cytisine as labelled ligand. The mRNA levels for alpha 4 or beta 2 nAChR subunits remained unchanged following the treatment. The tacrine-induced increase in number of nAChRs was significantly blocked by the antagonist mecamylamine (10(-4) M), while tubocurarine (10(-4) M) had no effect. Neither of the antagonists prevented the decrease in the number of nAChRs obtained at the higher concentration of tacrine. Similar to nicotine, tacrine (5 x 10(-5) M) decreased the turnover rate of nAChRs, which might indicate neuroprotective properties. This study demonstrates that tacrine interacts with two sites on nAChRs, where activation of the non-competitive allosteric site might contribute to the clinical efficacy of tacrine treatment in AD patients.