Presynaptic effects of d‐tubocurarine on neurotransmitter release at the neuromuscular junction of the frog.

H. Matzner*, H. Parnas, I. Parnas

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

32 Scopus citations

Abstract

1. Presynaptic effects of d‐tubocurarine on neurotransmitter release were examined at the frog neuromuscular junction, using intracellular and extracellular recording techniques. 2. d‐Tubocurarine in concentrations of 10(‐7)‐10(‐6) M decreased the quantal content (m) measured by the coefficient of variation and failure methods. 3. d‐Tubocurarine produced a shift to the right of the curve relating log quantal content to log [Ca2+]o without changing the slope. 4. The duration of twin‐impulse facilitation was not affected by 5 x 10(‐7) M‐d‐tubocurarine. Early facilitation was higher in d‐tubocurarine. 5. d‐Tubocurarine altered the synaptic delay histogram. The peak of the histogram was shifted to longer delays. Prolongation of the minimal delay was seen in most but not all experiments. 6. These results suggest that d‐tubocurarine inhibits release of neurotransmitter by affecting a stage in the process of release, which occurs after the entry of Ca2+ ions.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)109-121
Number of pages13
JournalJournal of Physiology
Volume398
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Apr 1988

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