Centrally active muscarinic agonists display pronounced analgesic effects. Identification of the specific muscarinic acetylcholine receptor (mAChR) subtype(s) mediating this activity is of considerable therapeutic interest. To examine the roles of the M(2) and M(4) receptor subtypes, the two G(i)/G(o)-coupled mAChRs, in mediating agonist-dependent antinociception, we generated a mutant mouse li...

Central cholinergic (muscarinic) systems play an important role in learning and memory. In mammalian central neurons, muscarinic stimulation depresses several voltage-activated K+ currents and modulates synaptic transmission. Using whole-cell voltage-clamp recordings in hippocampal CA1 neurons of rat brain slices, we report that activation of muscarinic receptors potentiates a voltage-activated...

We reported previously the elicitation of presumably monosynaptic evoked field potentials in the dentate gyrus of immobilized rats by stimulation of the medial septal nuclei. The septo-hippocampal pathway mediating this evoked potential (SHEP) is widely assumed to be cholinergic in nature. In order to further verify this assumption we studied the effects of muscarinic drugs on the SHEPs. Scopol...

Expression of KCNQ2/3 (Kv7.2 and -7.3) heteromers underlies the neuronal M current, a current that is suppressed by activation of a variety of receptors that couple to the hydrolysis of phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate. Expression of Kv7.2/7.3 channels in human embryonic kidney (HEK) 293 cells produced a noninactivating potassium current characteristic of M current. Muscarinic receptors en...

It is demonstrated that acetylcholine released from cholinergic interneurons modulates the excitability of neostriatal projection neurons. Physostigmine and neostigmine increase input resistance (RN) and enhance evoked discharge of spiny projection neurons in a manner similar to muscarine. Muscarinic RN increase occurs in the whole subthreshold voltage range (-100 to -45 mV), remains in the pre...

Pertussis toxin was used to examine the role of the inhibitory guanine nucleotide regulatory protein, Ni, in muscarinic-receptor-mediated stimulation of phosphoinositide turnover and calcium mobilization. In cultured chick heart cells, pertussis-toxin treatment inhibited muscarinic-receptor-mediated attenuation of isoprenaline-stimulated cyclic AMP accumulation. This finding is consistent with ...

Pre-stimulation of Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells expressing the human m1-muscarinic receptor (CHO-m1 cells) with a maximally effective concentration of the muscarinic agonist methacholine resulted in desensitization of Ins(1,4,5)P3 accumulation, apparent as a approximately 4-fold shift in the agonist dose-response curve. Agonist-induced desensitization was rapid (detectable by 10 s) and con...

Imidafenacin is a potent and selective antagonist of M1 and M3 muscarinic receptors that is safe, efficacious, and well tolerated for controlling the symptoms of overactive bladder (OAB). However, the precise mechanisms responsible for the bladder-selective pharmacological effects of this agent remain unclear. The in vivo pharmacologic effects of imidafenacin result from receptor occupancy. The...

Acetylcholine and the activation of muscarinic receptors influence the activity of neural networks generating locomotor behavior in the mammalian spinal cord. Using electrical stimulations of the ventral commissure, we show that commissural muscarinic (CM) depolarizations could be induced in lumbar motoneurons. We provide a detailed electrophysiological characterization of the muscarinic recept...