A Preliminary Study of Expression of a1 Subunit of Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors in Primary Cultured Osteoblasts

Xiao-Xia Che*, Yu-Xing Bai¹, Jie Guo¹, Xiao-Yu Li²

( Department of Orthodontics, Faculty of Stomatology, Capital University of Medical Sciences, Beijing 100050 China;

¹Department of Orthodontics, Faculty of Stomatology, Shandong University, Jinan 250012, China;

² Department of Orthodontics, West China College of Stomatology, Sichuan

University, Chengdu 610041, China )

Abstract:Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) are neurotransmitter-gated ion channels which were traditionally considered that often expressed at the vertebrate skeletal neuromuscular junction and within the central and peripheral nervous systems. In this study in situ hybridization and immunocytochemistrical technique were used to probe into the expression of a1 subunit of nAChRs in primary cultured osteoblasts. The results showed that both mRNA and protein of a1 subunit of nAChRs were positively expressed in the osteoblasts. It was presumed that structures like synapse at the skeletal neuromuscular junction might be existed in bone and involved in bone growth and remodeling activities.

Key words: rat; osteoblast; nicotinic acetylcholine receptors

*Corresponding author. Tel: 86-10-67099221, Fax: 86-10-67099310, E-mail: chexiaoxia@163.com