title: Direct pharmacological comparison of the muscarinic receptors mediating relaxation and contraction in the rabbit thoracic aorta.
abstract: The purpose of the present studies was to directly compare the pharmacology of the muscarinic cholinergic receptors coupled to carbachol-induced relaxation and contraction of the intact and the endothelium-denuded rabbit thoracic aorta, respectively. The order of potencies of agonists for producing relaxation in the intact aorta was similar to that for producing contraction in the denuded aorta. In both preparations, the partial agonists pilocarpine, McN-A-343, and RS86 functioned as antagonists, indicating a lack of receptor reserve in both preparations. Further, the pA2 values for antagonists in both tissues were virtually identical and were consistent with the pharmacology of M3 receptors.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001013:Aorta, Thoracic / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D002217:Carbachol / Q000494:pharmacology; D004730:Endothelium, Vascular / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D018721:Muscarinic Agonists / Q000494:pharmacology*; D018727:Muscarinic Antagonists / Q000494:pharmacology*; D009131:Muscle, Smooth, Vascular / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D011817:Rabbits; D043587:Receptor, Muscarinic M3; D011976:Receptors, Muscarinic / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D014661:Vasoconstriction / Q000187:drug effects*; D014664:Vasodilation / Q000187:drug effects*