Cholinergic chemosensory cells in the auditory tube.

The luminal composition of the auditory tube influences its function. The mechanisms involved in the monitoring are currently not known. For the lower respiratory epithelium, such a sentinel role is carried out by cholinergic brush cells.

Expression of muscarinic and nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in the mouse urothelium.

Acetylcholine (ACh) and its receptors play a crucial role in bladder physiology. Here, we investigated the presence of muscarinic receptor subtypes (MR) and nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) alpha-subunits in the mouse urothelium by RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry. With RT-PCR, we detected mRNAs coding for all of the five different MR subtypes and for the nicotinic receptor subunits alpha2, alpha4, alpha5, alpha6, alpha7, alpha9 and alpha10, whereas the alpha3-subunit was not expressed.

Immunohistochemical localization of muscarinic receptors (M2) in the rat skin.

Acetylcholine (ACh) produces pain when applied to human skin and excites cutaneous mechanoreceptors and nerve terminals. These effects are partially mediated by activation of muscarinic receptors. The expression of muscarinic receptor subtype M2 has been shown in sensory neurons of rat dorsal root ganglia using reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry.

Expression of the cholinergic gene locus in pulmonary arterial endothelial cells.

In the pulmonary vasculature of man, pig and guinea-pig, acetylcholine (ACh) exerts a relaxant effect by interacting with muscarinic receptors located on endothelial cells. The present experiments were designed to detect the endogenous source of ACh in the pulmonary vasculature. For this purpose, we investigated whether pulmonary artery endothelial cells contain elements of the "cholinergic gene locus", the ACh synthesising enzyme choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) and the vesicular ACh transporter (VAChT).

Expression of hepatitis B virus core gene products with specific immunoreactivity for e antigen (HBeAg) in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

The e antigen of the hepatitis B virus (HBeAg) was expressed in S. cerevisiae. Yeast-derived HBeAg exhibits high HBe antigenicity while lacking any HBc antigenicity.