The m1 muscarinic acetylcholine receptor gene was transfected into and stably expressed in A9 L cells. The muscarinic receptor agonist, carbachol, stimulated inositol phosphate generation, arachidonic acid release, and cAMP accumulation in these cells. Carbachol stimulated arachidonic acid and inositol phosphate release with similar potencies, while cAMP generation required a higher concentrati...

Dorsal spinocerebellar tract (DSCT) neurons in Clarke's column in the lumbar spinal cord of cats anesthetized with alpha-chloralose were recorded intracellularly. The membrane potential activity and electrophysiological properties of these neurons were examined before and during the state of active-sleep-like motor inhibition induced by the injection of carbachol into the nucleus pontis oralis....

The cerebral cortex consists of multiple neuron subtypes whose electrophysiological properties exhibit diverse modulation patterns in response to neurotransmitters, including noradrenaline and acetylcholine (ACh). We performed multiple whole cell patch-clamp recording from layer V GABAergic interneurons and pyramidal cells of rat insular cortex (IC) to examine whether cholinergic effects on uni...

Conjunctival goblet cells are the primary source of mucins in the mucous layer, the innermost layer of the tear film. Conjunctival goblet cell mucin secretion is under neural control because exogenous addition of parasympathetic agonists stimulates goblet cell secretion. To elucidate the intracellular signal pathways used by cholinergic agonists to stimulate goblet cell mucin secretion, we dete...

Carbachol enhances rapid eye movement (REM) sleep when microinjected into the pontine reticular formation of the cat and rat. Carbachol elicits this REM sleep-like state via activation of postsynaptic muscarinic cholinergic receptors (mAChRs). The present study used in vitro autoradiography of carbachol-stimulated [35S]guanylyl-5'-O-(gamma-thio)-triphosphate ([35S]GTPgammaS) binding to test the...

Injecting muscarinic receptor agonists into a specific area of the brainstem produces an antinociceptive response. The present study investigates whether direct injections of the cholinergic agonist, carbachol, into the rat nucleus reticularis gigantocellularis (NRGC)/nucleus reticularis gigantocellularis alpha (NRGCalpha) of the rostral ventrolateral medulla evokes antinociception, and then ex...

Olfactory perception is influenced by behavioral states, presumably via efferent regulation. Using the whole cell version of patch-clamp recording technique, we discovered that acetylcholine, which is released from efferent fibers in the olfactory mucosa, can directly affect the signal encoding in newt olfactory receptor cells (ORCs). Under current-clamp conditions, application of carbachol, an...

Mucus hypersecretion and mucin MUC5AC overexpression are pathological features of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This study examines the inhibitory effect of aclidinium, a new long-acting muscarinic antagonist, on MUC5AC expression in human airway epithelial cells. MUC5AC mRNA (RT-PCR) and protein expression (ELISA and immunohistochemistry) were studied in human bronchial tissue ...

AIM Cholinergic regulation is important in the control of cardiovascular and endocrine responses. The mechanisms behind cardiovascular responses induced by cholinergic activation are explored by studying hormonal systems, including renin-angiotensin and vasopressin (VP). RESULTS In chronically prepared fetal sheep, intravenous infusion of the cholinergic agonist carbachol increased fetal syst...

The effects of intrahypothalamic carbachol microinjections were investigated in unprovoked cats. The carbachol evoked mydriasis, attention, vocalization, and piloerection, i.e. features of a typical defense were usually concomitant in evoked response, while the clear-cut aggressive or escape patterns appeared only once. No basic differences were observed in the set of manifestations induced by ...