Laboratoire de Neurobiologie et Pharmacologie Cardiovasculaire, Université de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France.
PLoS One. 2010 Mar 1;5(3):e9464. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0009464.
Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) remains the leading cause of death among infants less than 1 year of age. Disturbed expression of some neurotransmitters and their receptors has been shown in the central nervous system of SIDS victims but no biological abnormality of the peripheral vago-cardiac system has been demonstrated to date. The present study aimed to seek vago-cardiac abnormalities in SIDS victims. The cardiac level of expression of muscarinic receptors, as well as acetylcholinesterase enzyme activity were investigated.
METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Left ventricular samples and blood samples were obtained from autopsies of SIDS and children deceased from non cardiac causes. Binding experiments performed with [(3)H]NMS, a selective muscarinic ligand, in cardiac membrane preparations showed that the density of cardiac muscarinic receptors was increased as shown by a more than doubled B(max) value in SIDS (n = 9 SIDS versus 8 controls). On average, the erythrocyte acetylcholinesterase enzyme activity was also significantly increased (n = 9 SIDS versus 11 controls).
In the present study, it has been shown for the first time that cardiac muscarinic receptor overexpression is associated with SIDS. The increase of acetylcholinesterase enzyme activity appears as a possible regulatory mechanism.
婴儿猝死综合征（SIDS）仍然是 1 岁以下婴儿死亡的主要原因。在 SIDS 受害者的中枢神经系统中已经显示出一些神经递质及其受体的表达紊乱，但迄今为止尚未证明外周迷走心脏系统存在生物学异常。本研究旨在寻找 SIDS 受害者的迷走心脏异常。研究了毒蕈碱受体的心脏水平表达以及乙酰胆碱酯酶活性。
方法/主要发现：从 SIDS 和死于非心脏原因的儿童的尸检中获得左心室样本和血液样本。用[（3）H]NMS（一种选择性毒蕈碱配体）进行心脏膜制剂中的结合实验表明，心脏毒蕈碱受体的密度增加，SIDS 组的 B（max）值增加了一倍以上（n = 9 SIDS 与 8 对照组）。平均而言，红细胞乙酰胆碱酯酶活性也显著增加（n = 9 SIDS 与 11 对照组）。
在本研究中，首次表明心脏毒蕈碱受体的过表达与 SIDS 相关。乙酰胆碱酯酶活性的增加似乎是一种可能的调节机制。
