Muscarinic Receptor Subtypes Mediating Ca2+ Sensitization of Intestinal Smooth Muscle Contraction: Studies with Receptor Knockout Mice

In the present study, we have characterized muscarinic receptor subtypes that mediate carbachol-induced Ca2+ sensitization of contraction in intestinal smooth muscle, using mutant mice lacking M2 or M3 muscarinic receptors or both receptor subtypes. In α-toxin-permeabilized muscle strips from wild-type (WT) mice, isometric tension responses to Ca2+ applied cumulatively (pCa 7.0–5.0) were increased when the muscarinic agonist carbachol (100 μM) was added to the medium, as judged from shifts of pCa-tension curves in both 50% effective concentration (EC50) and maximum response (Emax) of pCa-tension curve. In preparations from M2-knockout (KO) mice, pCa-tension curves were also shifted by carbachol (100 μM), and the extents of the EC50 and Emax changes resembled those observed in preparations from WT mice. In preparations from M3-KO or M2/M 3 double-KO mice, however, no significant changes in pCa-tension curves were obtained after carbachol application. The Gq/11-type G-protein inhibitor YM-254890 (1 μM) completely blocked the Ca2+ sensitization of contraction induced by carbachol in M2-KO or WT preparations. The results strongly support the idea that the muscarinic activation of Ca2+ sensitization in intestinal smooth muscles is mediated by the M3 muscarinic receptor coupled to Gq/11-type G-proteins, without any significant involvement of the other muscarinic receptor subtypes including M2.