title: Enhancement of an L-type calcium current in AtT-20 cells; a novel effect of the m4 muscarinic receptor.
abstract: Activation of muscarinic receptors has been shown to inhibit L-type calcium conductances by mechanisms sensitive to pertussis toxin (PTX). In this study we show that agonist stimulation of the m4 muscarinic receptor leads to an increase in an L-type calcium conductance in the AtT-20 pituitary cell line, by a PTX-sensitive mechanism. The amplitude of the dihydropyridine (DHP)-sensitive or L-type calcium current was increased by acetylcholine (ACh), with no shift in the voltage dependence. This action of ACh was completely inhibited by PTX pre-treatment. Forskolin, cAMP and phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate reduced, while RpcAMPs, an inhibitor of cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA), increased the L-type calcium conductance. We propose that the m4 muscarinic receptor activates the L-type calcium channel by inhibition of adenylyl cyclase resulting in reduced cAMP levels and, hence, reduced PKA activity. This novel increase in calcium current via the m4 muscarinic receptor appears to reflect the coupling with an L-type channel of the D class, due to the sensitivity of the L-type calcium conductance to both DHPs and omega-conotoxin, and, thus, is distinct from the skeletal muscle and cardiac L-type channels of the C class previously studied.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Molecular Physiology, University of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington 05405, USA.
authors.forename: K E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Pemberton
authors.forename: S V
authors.initials: SV
authors.lastname: Jones
mesh_terms: D000109:Acetylcholine / Q000494:pharmacology; D000067956:Adenylyl Cyclase Inhibitors; D002121:Calcium Channel Blockers / Q000494:pharmacology; D015220:Calcium Channels / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D002460:Cell Line; D005576:Colforsin / Q000494:pharmacology; D000242:Cyclic AMP / Q000494:pharmacology; D017868:Cyclic AMP-Dependent Protein Kinases / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors; D018721:Muscarinic Agonists / Q000494:pharmacology; D018408:Patch-Clamp Techniques; D011976:Receptors, Muscarinic / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D000067956:Adenylyl Cyclase Inhibitors; D002121:Calcium Channel Blockers; D015220:Calcium Channels; D018721:Muscarinic Agonists; D011976:Receptors, Muscarinic; D005576:Colforsin; D000242:Cyclic AMP; D017868:Cyclic AMP-Dependent Protein Kinases; D000109:Acetylcholine