The Pharmacology of Nerve and Muscle in Tissue Culture

1. An Introduction to Tissue Culture and its Use in the Study of Nerve and Muscle.- What is tissue culture?.- Development of tissue culture.- General advantages of tissue culture.- Recording techniques.- Present interests and future directions.- 2. Nerve Cells in Primary Culture.- Types of culture and methodology.- Electrical properties and drugs acting on ion channels.- Passive membrane properties.- Action potentials and drugs acting on ion channels.- Receptor properties.- Acetylcholine receptors.- Monoamine receptors.- Amino acid neurotransmitters.- Peptides.- 3. Neural Cell Lines.- Electrical properties.- Na+ Channels.- Ca2+ Channels.- K+ Channels.- Receptor properties.- Acetylcholine receptors.- Monoamine receptors.- Opiate receptors.- Prostaglandin receptors.- Adenosine receptors.- 4. Skeletal Muscle.- Electrical properties and drugs acting on ion channels.- Passive membrane properties.- Action potentials and drugs acting on ion channels.- Acetylcholine receptors.- Development of acetylcholine receptors.- Receptor turnover.- Functional properties of acetylcholine receptors.- Pharmacological properties of acetylcholine receptors.- 5. Cardiac Muscle.- Development of methods.- Electrical properties and drugs acting on ion channels.- Action potentials.- Drug actions on ion channels.- Acetylcholine receptors.- Affinity for agonists and antagonists.- Density, distribution and turnover of receptors.- Mechanism of action of acetylcholine.- Noradrenaline receptors.- Specificity and affinity.- Mechanism of action of noradrenaline.- Modulation of adrenoceptors by hormones.- 6. Smooth Muscle.- Culture methods.- Explants and subcultures.- Dissociated cell cultures.- Electrophysiological studies.- Pharmacological studies.- 7. Synapses and Neuromuscular Junctions in Culture.- Synapses in cultures of the central nervous system.- Brain tissue.- Spinal cord.- Synapses in cultures of the peripheral nervous system.- Explants.- Dissociated cell cultures.- Neuromuscular junctions.- Skeletal muscle.- Autonomic neuromuscular junctions.- References.