PURPOSE To investigate the effect of carbachol on the phagocytosis of photoreceptor outer segments (OS) in cultures of normal Long-Evans and dystrophic Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) rat retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells. METHODS Retinal pigment epithelial cells from normal and RCS rats were grown in tissue culture. On reaching confluence, they were presented with OS suspended in Krebs-...

We investigated the involvement of PKC-epsilon in apical actin remodeling in carbachol-stimulated exocytosis in reconstituted rabbit lacrimal acinar cells. Lacrimal acinar PKC-epsilon cosedimented with actin filaments in an actin filament binding assay. Stimulation of acini with carbachol (100 microM, 2-15 min) significantly (P < or = 0.05) increased PKC-epsilon recovery with actin filaments in...

Developmental mechanisms leading to lung hypoplasia in congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) remain poorly defined. Pulmonary innervation is defective in the human disease and in the rodent models of CDH. We hypothesize that defective parasympathetic innervation may contribute to airway branching abnormalities and, therefore, lung hypoplasia, during lung development in CDH. The murine nitrofen ...

Increased insulinotropic activity by the cholinergic agonist carbachol exists in insulin-resistant high fat-fed C57BL/6J mice. We examined the efficiency and potency of carbachol to potentiate glucose-stimulated insulin secretion and to improve glucose tolerance in these animals. Intravenous administration of carbachol (at 15 and 50 nmol/kg) markedly potentiated glucose (1 g/kg)-stimulated insu...

Asthma is a condition in which person’s airways become inflamed, narrowed, and produce greater amounts of mucus than normal. It can cause shortness breath, chest pain, coughing, or wheezing. In some cases, symptoms may be exacerbated. Thus, the current study was designed to determine mechanism action 6-aminoflavone (6-NH2F) ex vivo experiments, as well its toxicity acute sub-chronic murine mode...

The cardiovascular effects of centrally administered cholinomimetics were examined in conscious Long-Evans and Brattleboro rats. Carbachol (1 microgram/kg) or physostigmine (50 micrograms/kg) induced a long-lasting increase in blood pressure and a decrease in heart rate in Long-Evans rats whereas no bradycardia was observed in Brattleboro rats, and the pressor response was significantly less th...

Phosphatidylinositol (PtdIns) turnover in murine atria is stimulated by the cholinergic agonist carbachol. Incorporation of either [32P]phosphate or [myo-3H]inositol into PtdIns is increased 40-80% by 30 microM carbachol, but carbachol does not increase the labeling of other major phospholipids. Cholinergic stimulation of PtdIns synthesis is blocked by the muscarinic antagonist atropine. When C...

To explore the role of calcium in mediating the action of carbachol in chloride-secreting epithelia, we simultaneously measured intracellular free [Ca] ([Ca].) and the potassium conductance (gx) of the basolateral membrane in T84 cells grown on collagen-coated filters. [Call was measured with fura-2 and fluores-cence microscopy and expressed as a relative value ([Ca][) normalized to control. To...

EGF inhibits carbachol-induced chloride secretion by regulating a basolateral potassium channel via phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI 3-kinase) and PKCepsilon activation. Although both EGF and carbachol cause tyrosine phosphorylation of p85 of PI 3-kinase, only EGF activates the enzyme. Serine phosphorylation of p85 is thought to suppress the lipid kinase of PI 3-kinase. Our present study exami...