Antibodies Indicate Acetylcholine Receptors in Limulus Neuromuscular Junctions

Vacher, Christopher Thomas

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Antibodies Indicate Acetylcholine Receptors in Limulus Neuromuscular Junctions

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Binding of antibodies to Acetylcholine receptors (AChR) on skeletal muscle prevents or weakens contraction, as in the human autoimmune disease Myasthenia Gravis (MG), also inducible in rats. The horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus), an ancient arthropod, is an unlikely candidate for neuromuscular control by acetylcholine because most arthropods'' muscles are innervated by glutamatergic (excitatory) and GABAergic (inhibitory) neurons. Nevertheless, monoclonal anti-human AChR antibody caused eserine-reversible paralysis in Limulus larvae and juveniles, and in severed legs.

This report represents the work of one or more WPI undergraduate students submitted to the faculty as evidence of completion of a degree requirement. WPI routinely publishes these reports on its website without editorial or peer review.

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