Spontaneous openings of the acetylcholine receptor channel.

Patch clamp recordings from embryonic mouse muscle cells in culture revealed spontaneous openings of the acetylcholine receptor channel in the absence of exogenously applied cholinergic agent. The conductance of the spontaneous channel currents was, within experimental error, identical with the conductance of suberyldicholine-activated channel currents. The comparison of channel conductance was made with sodium and with cesium, each at two concentrations, with the same result. Treatment of the cells with alpha-bungarotoxin blocked the spontaneous channel currents. To determine whether the spontaneous openings were caused by an endogenous agent with cholinergic activity a reactive disulfide bond near the receptor binding site was reduced with dithiothreitol and alkylated with N-ethylmaleimide. This chemical modification reduced the effectiveness with which suberyldicholine and curare activated channel currents but did not reduce the frequency of spontaneous openings. These experiments indicate that the acetylcholine receptor briefly and infrequently fluctuates into an active state in the absence of agonist. Agonist activation of the receptor presumably accelerates this spontaneously occurring process.