Effects of Argireline on EPSP amplitude at the Crayfish Neuromuscular Junction

Abstract

Argireline is an anti-wrinkle agent that is proposed to work in the presynaptic cell of the neuromuscular junction by mimicking the structure of a presynaptic protein and preventing the interaction between SNARE proteins, an interaction which is required for neurotransmitter release. We sought to discover how much of an effect Argireline has on inhibiting neurotransmitter release by measuring excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs) on crayfish tail muscles using intracellular recordings and subjecting them to this chemical. Hyaluronic Acid was used as our control because it is found in creams containing Argireline as the only active ingredient. Argireline had an opposite effect than what we had predicted raising the EPSPs of our crayfish muscles significantly.