Calcium/Calmodulin Kinase II-Dependent Acetylcholine Receptor Cycling at the Mammalian Neuromuscular Junction In Vivo

At the mammalian skeletal neuromuscular junction, cycling of nicotinic ACh receptors (nAChRs) is critical for the maintenance of a high postsynaptic receptor density. However, the mechanisms that regulate nAChRs recycling in living animals remain unknown. Using in vivo time-lapse imaging, fluorescence recovery after photobleaching, and biochemical pull down assays, we demonstrated that recycling of internalized nAChRs into fully functional and denervated synapses was promoted by both direct muscle stimulation and pharmacologically induced intracellular calcium elevations. Most of internalized nAChRs are recycled directly into synaptic sites. Chelating of intracellular calcium below resting level drastically decreased cycling of nAChRs. Furthermore we found that calcium-dependent AChR recycling is mediated by Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent kinase II (CaMKII). Inhibition of CaMKII selectively blocked recycling and caused intracellular accumulation of internalized nAChRs, whereas internalization of surface receptors remained unaffected. Electroporation of CaMKII-GFP isoforms into the sternomastoid muscle showed that muscle-specific CaMKII beta m isoform is highly expressed at the neuromuscular junction (NMJ) and precisely colocalized with nAChRs at crests of synaptic folds while the CaMKII gamma and delta isoforms are poorly expressed in synaptic sites. These results indicate that Ca2+ along with CaMKII activity are critical for receptor recycling and may provide a mechanism by which the postsynaptic AChR density is maintained at the NMJ in vivo.