Characterization of muscarinic receptors of bovine coronary artery by functional and radioligand binding studies

Reduced Nitric Oxide Synthase Involvement in Aigamo Duck Basilar Arterial Relaxation

The basilar arterial endothelium mediates blood vessel relaxation partly through the release of nitric oxide (NO). Apoptosis of cerebrovascular endothelial cells is linked to a high mortality rate in chickens infected with the highly pathogenic avian influenza virus, but interestingly, ducks exhibit a greater resistance to this virus. In this study, we examined the responsiveness of duck basilar arteries (BAs) to various vasoactive substances, including 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT), histamine (His), angiotensin (Ang) II, noradrenaline (NA), acetylcholine (ACh), and avian bradykinin ornithokinin (OK), aiming to characterize the receptor subtypes involved and the role of endothelial NO in vitro. Our findings suggest that arterial contraction is mediated with 5-HT1 and H1 receptors, while relaxation is induced with β3-adrenergic and M3 receptors. Additionally, OK elicited a biphasic response in duck BAs, and Ang II had no effect. Endothelial NO appears to be crucial in relaxation mediated with M3 and OK receptors but not β3-adrenergic receptors in the duck BA. The reduced endothelial NO involvement in the receptor-mediated relaxation response in duck BAs represents a clear difference from the corresponding response reported in chicken BAs. This physiological difference may explain the differences in lethality between ducks and chickens when vascular endothelial cells are infected with the virus.

Vitamin C Deficiency Reduces Muscarinic Receptor Coronary Artery Vasoconstriction and Plasma Tetrahydrobiopterin Concentration in Guinea Pigs

Vitamin C (vitC) deficiency is associated with increased cardiovascular disease risk, but its specific interplay with arteriolar function is unclear. This study investigates the effect of vitC deficiency in guinea pigs on plasma biopterin status and the vasomotor responses in coronary arteries exposed to vasoconstrictor/-dilator agents. Dunkin Hartley female guinea pigs (n = 32) were randomized to high (1500 mg/kg diet) or low (0 to 50 mg/kg diet) vitC for 10-12 weeks. At euthanasia, coronary artery segments were dissected and mounted in a wire-myograph. Vasomotor responses to potassium, carbachol, sodium nitroprusside (SNP), U46619, sarafotoxin 6c (S6c) and endothelin-1 (ET-1) were recorded. Plasma vitC and tetrahydrobiopterin were measured by HPLC. Plasma vitC status reflected the diets with deficient animals displaying reduced tetrahydrobiopterin. Vasoconstrictor responses to carbachol were significantly decreased in vitC deficient coronary arteries independent of their general vasoconstrictor/vasodilator capacity (p < 0.001). Moreover, in vitC deficient animals, carbachol-induced vasodilator responses correlated with coronary artery diameter (p < 0.001). Inhibition of cyclooxygenases with indomethacin increased carbachol-induced vasoconstriction, suggesting an augmented carbachol-induced release of vasodilator prostanoids. Atropine abolished carbachol-induced vasomotion, supporting a specific muscarinic receptor effect. Arterial responses to SNP, potassium, S6c, U46619 and ET-1 were unaffected by vitC status. The study shows that vitC deficiency decreases tetrahydrobiopterin concentrations and muscarinic receptor mediated contraction in coronary arteries. This attenuated vasoconstrictor response may be linked to altered production of vasoactive arachidonic acid metabolites and reduced muscarinic receptor expression/signaling.

Cardioprotective effects of atrasentan, an endothelin-A receptor antagonist, but not of nitric oxide in diabetic mice with myocyte-specific overexpression of endothelial nitric oxide synthase

1. We investigated the roles of nitric oxide (NO) and endothelin-1 (ET-1) in organ dysfunction in diabetic mice with normal genotype (wild-type, WT) or myocyte-specific overexpression of endothelial NO synthase (eNOS) (transgenic, TG) after chronic oral treatment with the endothelin-A (ETA) receptor antagonist atrasentan. 2. Mice were rendered diabetic by injection of 200 mg kg-1 streptozotocin (STZ). Experimental groups were: untreated WT diabetic (n=9), untreated TG diabetic (n=9), atrasentan-treated WT diabetic (n=9), atrasentan-treated TG diabetic (n=8) and the four corresponding nondiabetic groups (n=5). Atrasentan was administered orally via drinking water at 3 mg kg-1 per day over 28 days. All diabetic mice developed similar hyperglycaemia (27-30 mmol l-1). 3. Atrasentan treatment significantly improved left ventricular systolic and diastolic function in response to exogenous norepinephrine, but there were no differences between genotypes. 4. Atrasentan antagonized the diabetic impairments in endothelium-dependent coronary relaxation and thromboxane-receptor mediated aortic constriction. Further, it improved cardiac and renal oxidant status as evident from reduced tissue malondialdehyde levels. 5. Atrasentan reduced diabetic urine flow, proteinuria and plasma creatinine levels, but creatinine clearance was not significantly altered. 6. These results suggest that in experimental type 1 diabetes, blocking ETA receptors ameliorates myocardial, coronary and renal function and improves tissue oxidant status, whereas raising myocardial NO levels has neither beneficial nor deleterious effects on diabetic cardiomyopathy in this transgenic model.

Muscarinic receptors in the mammalian heart

In the mammalian heart, cardiac function is under the control of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system. All regions of the mammalian heart are innervated by parasympathetic (vagal) nerves, although the supraventricular tissues are more densely innervated than the ventricles. Vagal activation causes stimulation of cardiac muscarinic acetylcholine receptors (M-ChR) that modulate pacemaker activity via I(f) and I(K.ACh), atrioventricular conduction, and directly (in atrium) or indirectly (in ventricles) force of contraction. However, the functional response elicited by M-ChR-activation depends on species, age, anatomic structure investigated, and M-ChR-agonist concentration used. Among the five M-ChR-subtypes M(2)-ChR is the predominant isoform present in the mammalian heart, while in the coronary circulation M(3)-ChR have been identified. In addition, evidence for a possible existence of an additional, not M(2)-ChR in the heart has been presented. M-ChR are subject to regulation by G-protein-coupled-receptor kinase. Alterations of cardiac M(2)-ChR in age and various kinds of disease are discussed.

Imbalance between the endothelial cell-derived contracting factors prostacyclin and angiotensin II and nitric oxide/cyclic GMP in human primary varicosis

1. The role of the endothelium in the vasomotor control of human veins in the lower extremity is little understood. We tested the hypothesis that the production of relaxing and contracting factors is altered in endothelial cells from varicose saphenous veins which may predispose to the decreased vessel tone observed in primary varicosis. 2. We determined the intracellular accumulation of guanosine 3':5'-cyclic monophosphate cyclic GMP; a measure of nitric oxide production and the release of endothelin and prostacyclin (measured as its stable metabolite 6-keto-prostaglandin F1alpha) from cultured cells derived from the long saphenous veins of patients with primary varicosis (Varicose saphena group, n = 27) or from patients undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery (Healthy saphena group, n = 22). In addition, levels of endothelin, angiotensin II, bradykinin, cyclic GMP and cyclic AMP in plasma from patients with primary varicosis and healthy volunteers (n = 8-11 in each group) were determined. 3. Although basal cyclic GMP levels were similar, more cyclic GMP accumulated in response to histamine (1-100 micromol l[-1]) in cells from varicose saphenous veins (0.75 +/- 0.1 pmol per well) than in cells from veins without varicosis (0.27 +/- 0.05 pmol per well). Furthermore, the relaxant potency of nitroprusside (1 nmol l(-1) - 300 micromol l[-1]) in vitro was higher for varicose veins (mean EC50 = 5.9 micromol l(-1); n = 8) than healthy veins (mean EC50 = 20.0 micromol l(-1); n = 7). 4. The production of prostacyclin was significantly less in cells from varicose than healthy saphenous veins (66 +/- 8.7 and 121 +/- 20.1 nmol g(-1) protein), but the production of endothelin was similar in both groups. Prostacyclin (3 nmol l(-1) 30 micromol l[-1]) consistently contracted rings of varicose saphenous vein in vitro with a mean EC50 value of 10-20 micromol l(-1) (n = 7); the maximum tension generated was approximately 50% of that of a completely depolarizing solution of K+ (120 mmol l[-1]). 5. In plasma from patients with varicose veins, levels of cyclic GMP were higher than in healthy controls (9.2 +/- 0.03 and 7.2 +/- 0.02 nmol l[-1]), levels of angiotensin II were lower (81 +/- 11.5 and 147 +/- 21.7 pmol l[-1]), and levels of endothelin, cyclic AMP, and bradykinin were not different. 6. It is concluded that endothelial cells from diseased saphenous veins secrete less constrictor mediators than cells from healthy veins and that in diseased veins the nitric oxide/cyclic GMP system is up-regulated which may shift the balance of vasoactive factors towards vasodilatation and contribute to the development of primary varicosis.

Inhibition of nitric oxide synthesis by NG-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME): requirement for bioactivation to the free acid, NG-nitro-L-arginine

1. The L-arginine derivatives NG-nitro-L-arginine (L-NOARG) and NG-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) have been widely used to inhibit constitutive NO synthase (NOS) in different biological systems. This work was carried out to investigate whether L-NAME is a direct inhibitor of NOS or requires preceding hydrolytic bioactivation to L-NOARG for inhibition of the enzyme. 2. A bolus of L-NAME and L-NOARG (0.25 micromol) increased coronary perfusion pressure of rat isolated hearts to the same extent (21 +/- 0.8 mmHg; n = 5), but the effect developed more rapidly following addition of L-NOARG than L-NAME (mean half-time: 0.7 vs 4.2 min). The time-dependent onset of the inhibitory effect of L-NAME was paralleled by the appearance of L-NOARG in the coronary effluent. 3. Freshly dissolved L-NAME was a 50 fold less potent inhibitor of purified brain NOS (mean IC50 = 70 microM) than L-NOARG (IC50 = 1.4 microM), but the apparent inhibitory potency of L-NAME approached that of L-NOARG upon prolonged incubation at neutral or alkaline pH. H.p.l.c. analyses revealed that NOS inhibition by L-NAME closely correlated with hydrolysis of the drug to L-NOARG. 4. Freshly dissolved L-NAME contained 2% of L-NOARG and was hydrolyzed with a half-life of 365 +/- 11.2 min in buffer (pH 7.4), 207 +/- 1.7 min in human plasma, and 29 +/- 2.2 min in whole blood (n = 3 in each case). When L-NAME was preincubated in plasma or buffer, inhibition of NOS was proportional to formation of L-NOARG, but in blood the inhibition was much less than expected from the rates of L-NAME hydrolysis. This was explained by accumulation of L-NOARG in blood cells. 5. These results suggest that L-NAME represents a prodrug lacking NOS inhibitory activity unless it is hydrolyzed to L-NOARG. Bioactivation of L-NAME proceeds at moderate rates in physiological buffers, but is markedly accelerated in tissues such as blood or vascular endothelium.

Muscarinic receptors and drugs in cardiovascular medicine

The parasympathetic system and its associated muscarinic receptors have been the subject of a renaissance of interest for the following two main reasons: (1) the association of endothelial muscarinic receptors and the nitric oxide (NO) pathway; (2) the discovery of several muscarinic receptor subtypes and drugs interacting with them. In the present survey modern insights into the subdivision of muscarinic receptors have been dealt with as the basis for a description of the muscarinic receptor agonists and antagonists thus far known. There are at least four pharmacologically defined M receptors (M1, M2, M3, M4) in primary tissues, and five muscarinic receptors have been cloned (m1, m2, m3, m4, m5). Selective agonists for M-receptor subtypes hardly exist, and all classical agonists (acetylcholine, carbachol, etc.) are clearly nonselective. A few selective antagonists for M1 (pirenzepine) and M2 receptors (AF-DX 116) have been introduced, although selective M3 receptors are hardly available. Finally, the potential therapeutic use of M-receptor agonists (myocardial ischemia, hypertension) and muscarinic antagonists (certain forms of bradycardia, coronary spasm) has been critically discussed. Although only in a preliminary stage, this development appears to be promising and at least of great fundamental interest.

Hypotensive effect of an M2-selective muscarinic antagonist in anaesthetized guinea-pigs

1. In order to determine an involvement of muscarinic M2 receptors in the regulation of systemic arterial blood pressure, we investigated the cardiovascular effects of the M2-selective antagonist methoctramine and other agents in anaesthetized guinea-pigs. 2. Intravenous injection of methoctramine, atropine, pirenzepine (an M1-selective muscarinic antagonist) or 4-DAMP (an M3-selective muscarinic antagonist) each significantly increased heart rate in comparison to vehicle controls. 3. Methoctramine produced significant, dose-dependent decreases in mean arterial blood pressure, with an ED50 of 0.1 mg kg-1. Atropine decreased blood pressure only at high doses. Pirenzepine and 4-DAMP did not alter blood pressure, indicating that M1 or M3 receptor antagonism was not responsible for the cardiovascular effects of methoctramine. 4. The hypotensive effect of methoctramine was unaltered by indomethacin pretreatment, ruling out an alteration in arachidonic acid metabolism as the mechanism of action. 5. In contrast to methoctramine, mecamylamine (a nicotinic ganglionic receptor antagonist) greatly decreased heart rate and slightly decreased blood pressure, suggesting that ganglionic blockade was not the mechanism for the cardiovascular effects of methoctramine. 6. Methoctramine (0.3 mg kg-1) pretreatment did not alter the hypertensive effect of intravenous noradrenaline, demonstrating that methoctramine did not directly inhibit vascular reactivity and indicating an indirect hypotensive of action of methoctramine. 7. In summary, the results suggest that the hypotensive action of methoctramine resulted from selective M2 receptor antagonism. Therefore, muscarinic M2 receptors appear to play a role in the regulation of systemic arterial blood pressure in guinea-pigs. However, the anatomical site(s) of action of methoctramine remains to be determined.

Characterization of muscarinic receptor subtype mediating contraction and relaxation in equine coronary artery in vitro

In coronary arterial rings isolated from horses, 10(-8)-10(-6) mol/l acetylcholine (ACh) induced concentration-dependent contractions which were potentiated by the removal of endothelium and by pretreatment with L-nitro-arginine (LNAG) or methylene blue (MB). Relatively lower concentrations of ACh (10(-14)-10(-8) mol/l) induced relaxation when the coronary rings were contracted by phenylephrine (PE). ACh-induced contractions in the coronary rings without endothelium were competitively inhibited by each muscarinic subtype selective antagonist in the following order of potency: 4-diphenylacetoxy-N-methylpiperidine methiodide (4-DAMP) > pirenzepine > or = parafluoro-hexahydrosiladiphenidol (pFHHSiD) > methoctramine. ACh-induced relaxation in the rings with endothelium was inhibited by LNAG or MB, and by each selective antagonist in the following order of potency: 4-DAMP > pFHHSiD > pirenzepine > methoctramine. These results suggest that the ACh-induced contraction and relaxation in equine coronary arteries are mediated mainly by an M3-receptor located on the smooth muscle cells and endothelial cells, respectively, and that the stimulation of the M3-receptor on the endothelial cells liberates nitric oxide.

Endothelium-dependent relaxation in response to acetylcholine in the human uterine artery

The effect of acetylcholine on isolated human uterine artery rings was investigated. Acetylcholine induced concentration and endothelium-dependent relaxation (pD2 = 7.29 +/- 0.03) of the precontracted arterial segments. The dissociation constant (KA) for acetylcholine was 1.35 (0.92-1.77) mumol/l. The occupancy-response relationship was non-linear. Half-maximal response to acetylcholine was obtained with 5.25% receptor occupancy. Muscarinic receptor antagonists: atropine, pirenzepine, methoctramine, p-fluoro-hexahydro-sila-diphenidol (pFHHSiD) and 4-diphenyl-acetoxy-N-methyl-piperidine (4-DAMP) competitively antagonized the response to acetylcholine. The constrained pA2 values were 9.32 +/- 0.03, 7.13 +/- 0.01, 6.26 +/- 0.01, 8.17 +/- 0.01 and 9.13 +/- 0.02, respectively. A selective muscarinic M2 receptor antagonist, gallamine, had no effect on acetylcholine-induced relaxation. It is concluded that in human uterine arteries acetylcholine induces endothelium-dependent relaxation and acts as a full agonist. We suggest that the muscarinic receptors involved in the acetylcholine-induced relaxation of the isolated human uterine artery are predominantly of the M3 subtype.

Differential effects of omega-conotoxin GVIA and tetrodotoxin on vasoconstrictions evoked by electrical stimulation and nicotinic receptor stimulation in canine isolated, perfused splenic arteries

1. The effects of omega-conotoxin GVIA (omega-CgTX) and tetrodotoxin (TTX) on vasoconstrictions induced by acetylcholine (ACh) and nicotine were investigated and compared with those induced by periarterial electrical stimulation in the isolated and perfused canine splenic arteries. 2. ACh and nicotine at doses of 0.01 to 1 mumol constricted the splenic artery, dose-dependently. ACh induced consistent responses, but the vasoconstrictor responses to nicotine became significantly smaller with repeated administration of nicotine. 3. Periarterial electrical stimulation produced a vasoconstriction that was abolished by either TTX (30 nmol) or omega-CgTX (3 nmol), but the vasoconstrictor response to nicotine was not significantly affected by the same doses of TTX and omega-CgTX. Inhibitions by TTX and omega-CgTX of ACh-induced vasoconstrictions were small but statistically significant, showing that the percentage inhibition was less than 15%. TTX and omega-CgTX did not affect the vasoconstrictor responses to exogenous noradrenaline (NA). 4. ACh did not produce any vasoconstriction in the preparations treated either with alpha-adrenoceptor antagonists (10 microM bunazosin and 10 microM midaglizole) or with 30 microM guanethidine. NA-induced responses were abolished by alpha-adrenoceptor antagonists, but not affected by guanethidine treatment. 5. Vascular responses to ACh were completely inhibited by 1 mumol hexamethonium. In the preparations treated with 100 nmol nicotine, ACh did not produce any vasoconstriction. However, the NA-induced vasoconstriction was affected by neither hexamethonium nor nicotine treatment. 6. Atropine (1 microM) significantly inhibited but did not abolish the vasoconstrictor responses to ACh. The vascular responses to nicotine and NA were also significantly inhibited by atropine treatment. 7. These results indicate that (1) ACh constricts the splenic artery through the activation of presynaptic nicotinic receptors present on the sympathetic nerves; (2) differential effects of TTX and omega-CgTX on the vascular responses to ACh and nicotine, and to electrical stimulation suggest that the receptor-operated ion channels are mainly responsible for NA release induced by nicotinic receptor stimulation, but N-type VOCCs are responsible for that by electrical stimulation; (3) atropine may have an inhibitory action on nicotine-related responses, in addition to its inhibitory action on NA.

Heterogeneity of muscarinic receptors in lamb isolated coronary resistance arteries

1. In vitro experiments in a microvascular myograph were designed to characterize postjunctional muscarinic receptors producing contraction both in the presence and absence of the endothelium in coronary resistance arteries (normalized diameter of 150-450 microns), isolated from the left ventricle of hearts from 3-6 month old lambs. Preferential muscarinic receptor antagonists were used to determine the receptor subtype: pirenzepine (M1 receptor), AFDX 116 (M2 receptor), 4-DAMP and pFHHSiD (M3 receptor). 2. The rank order of potency for muscarinic agonist-induced increases in tension in endothelium-intact preparations was oxotremorine-M = methacholine = acetylcholine (ACh) > carbachol. Removal of the endothelium increased the potency of ACh, but this procedure did not change either the sensitivity or maximal response to carbachol. 3. The contractile response to ACh was reproducible. Incubation with 3 x 10(-7)-3 x 10(-6) M pirenzepine induced non-parallel rightward shifts and depressed the maximum of the concentration-response curve to ACh in endothelium-intact arteries. The slope by Schild analysis was 2.9 +/- 0.8 (P < 0.05, n = 7). Atropine, AFDX 116, 4-DAMP and pFHHSiD produced parallel rightward shifts of the curves to ACh and the slopes of the Schild plots were not significantly different from unity. The pKB values for the antagonists from plots constrained to unity in endothelium-intact segments were: atropine (9.4), 4-DAMP (9.0), pFHHSiD (7.9) and AFDX 116 (6.2). 4. In endothelium-denuded arteries, pirenzepine, AFDX 116 and pFHHSiD caused concentration-dependent, parallel rightward displacements of the concentration-response curves to ACh and the slopes of the Schild plots were not significantly different from unity. The plots constrained to a slope of unity gave the following pKB values: pFHHSiD (8.7), pirenzepine (7.5) and AFDX 116 (6.2). 5. In the presence of the endothelium, low concentrations of pirenzepine (10(-9)-10(-7) M) produced leftward shifts of the ACh concentration-response curves. This potentiating effect of pirenzepine was reversed by endothelial cell removal. In preparations precontracted with the thromboxane-mimetic, U46619, the putative M1-selective agonist, McN-A-343, induced a biphasic relaxation with log IC50 of 8.53 +/- 0.14 and 5.02 +/- 0.08 for the first and second phase of the relaxation, respectively, and maximal relaxations of 22.8 +/- 4.3% and 41.1 +/- 5.4% (n = 16). McN-A-343 relaxed the vessels in the presence of 10(-7) M pFHHSiD and 3 x 10(-7) M AFDX 116, but not after incubation with 10(-9) M pirenzepine. 6. It is concluded from the pKB values for the antagonists used, that contraction induced by ACh in lamb coronary resistance arteries, in either the presence or the absence of the endothelium, is mediated via the M3 subtype of muscarinic receptors, while muscarinic receptors of another subtype at the endothelium seem to modulate the contractile response to ACh.

NG-nitro L-arginine methyl ester and other alkyl esters of arginine are muscarinic receptor antagonists

Analogues of L-arginine with modifications at the terminal guanidino nitrogen and/or the carboxyl terminus of the molecule have been widely used for their ability to inhibit the production of nitric oxide and are thought to be competitive antagonists of nitric oxide synthase. The present studies were designed to test the possibility that these agents are also muscarinic receptor antagonists. Acetylcholine produced concentration-dependent contraction of endothelium-denuded rabbit coronary artery as well as isolated strips of canine colonic smooth muscle. The arginine analogue NG-nitro L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME, 100 microM) but not NG-monomethyl L-arginine (L-NMMA, 100 microM) significantly shifted these contractile relations to the right, an effect that was not reversed by addition of 1 mM L-arginine. In radioligand binding studies using the muscarinic radioligand [3H]quinuclidinyl benzilate and tissues known to contain differing contributions of M1, M2, and M3 muscarinic receptors, addition of increasing concentrations of L-NAME resulted in a monophasic competition of binding with affinities (Ki) ranging from 68 microM in endothelium to 317 microM in whole aorta. Addition of the hydrolysis-resistant guanosine 5'-triphosphate analogue GTP gamma S (100 microM) had no effect on L-NAME competition of [3H]quinuclidinyl benzilate binding. Addition of L-NAME in radioligand binding competition studies using the agonist carbachol did not result in an alteration of the receptor's affinity for agonist, confirming the competitive nature of the interaction of L-NAME with the muscarinic receptor.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Characterization of muscarinic receptors mediating vasodilation in guinea-pig ileum submucosal arterioles by the use of computer-assisted videomicroscopy

Muscarinic receptors of resistance vessels (submucosal arterioles, outside diameter 50-75 microns) from the guinea-pig small intestine were investigated in vitro using a computer-assisted videomicroscopy system (Diamtrak). The muscarinic receptor which mediates vasodilation of precontracted [U-46619 (300 nM) or (-)-noradrenaline (10 microM)] arterioles was characterized with several muscarinic agonists and subtype-selective antagonists. The following agonists all produced equivalent maximum vasodilation (given in rank order of potency): acetylcholine = arecaidine propargyl ester (APE) greater than oxotremorine = (+/-)-muscarine = (+/-)-methacholine greater than carbachol greater than 4-[[N-(4-chlorophenyl)carbamoyl]oxy]-2-butynyltrimethylammonium iodide (4-Cl-McN-A-343). 4-[[N-(3-Chlorophenyl)-carbamoyl]oxy]-2-butynyltrimethylammonium chloride (McN-A-343) and N-ethyl-guvacine propargyl ester (NEN-APE) produced minimal or no arteriolar vasodilation. The muscarinic antagonists pirenzepine, (+-)-5,11-dihydro-11-[[[2-[2-((dipropylamino)methyl)-1-piperidinyl] ethyl]amino]-carbonyl]-6H-pyrido(2,3-b)(1,4)-benzodiazepin-6-one (AF-DX 384), 11-[[4-[4-(diethylamino)butyl]-1-piperidinyl]acetyl]-5,11-dihydro- 6H-pyrido(2,3-b)(1,4)-benzodiazepin-6-one (AQ-RA 741), p-fluorohexahydro-sila-difenidol (p-F-HHSiD), 4-diphenylacetoxy-N-methylpiperidine methiodide (4-DAMP) and (R)- and (S)-hexahydro-difenidol [(R)-HHD, (S)-HHD] shifted the muscarine, methacholine or carbachol dose-response curve to the right in a competitive manner. Schild analysis of the data yielded pA2 values for pirenzepine (6.74/6.9), AF-DX 384 (6.72), AQ-RA 741 (6.58), p-F-HHSiD (7.53/7.57), 4-DAMP (9.06), (R)-HHD (7.88/8.32) and (S)-HHD (5.52/5.88). Thus, it can be concluded that submucosal arterioles possess only the M3 functional muscarinic receptor, the activation of which causes blood vessel dilation.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Characterization of muscarinic receptors mediating endothelium-dependent relaxation of bovine coronary artery

In order to identify the receptor subtype responsible for acetylcholine (ACh)-induced relaxation of bovine coronary artery, we determined the affinity of six subtype-selective muscarinic antagonists and compared them with affinity estimates obtained for bovine left atria. At low concentrations, ACh potently relaxed circular strips of coronary artery with endothelium (EC50 0.15 microM), but contracted them at higher agonist concentrations with potencies that depended on the presence or absence of endothelium: EC50 1.8 microM (without endothelium); 4.6 microM (with endothelium). The pA2 values obtained for antagonism of relaxant responses to ACh were: pirenzepine (M1-selective) 7.38 +/- 0.12; AF-DX 116 (11-[2-(diethylamino-methyl)-1-piperidinyl-acetyl]-5,11- dihydro-6H-pyrido(2,3-b)1,4-benzodiazepine-6-one; M2-selective) 5.79 +/- 0.09; and 4-diphenylacetoxy-N-methyl-piperidine-methobromide (4-DAMP; M3/M1-selective) 9.07 +/- 0.12. The corresponding Schild slopes were 0.98 +/- 0.07 for pirenzepine, 1.17 +/- 0.09 for AF-DX 116 and 1.01 +/- 0.04 for 4-DAMP. For the following three antagonists, pKB values were determined at two different antagonist concentrations: dicyclomine (M1-selective) 7.49 +/- 0.10, cyclohexylphenyl-(2-piperidinoethyl)-silanol (CPPS; M3-selective) 8.0 +/- 0.10, and parafluoro-hexahydrosila-difenidol (pFHHSiD; M3-selective) 7.87 +/- 0.10. For comparison, the antagonism of methacholine-induced negative inotropy in left atria was determined for three antagonists, yielding the following pA2 values: pirenzepine 5.98 +/- 0.14; AF-DX 116 6.81 +/- 0.14 and 4-DAMP 7.99 +/- 0.14. The slopes of the corresponding Schild plots were 1.05 +/- 0.10, 1.14 +/- 0.12 and 1.08 +/- 0.08, respectively.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)