Affinities of pirenzepine for muscarinic cholinergic receptors in membranes isolated from bovine tracheal mucosa and smooth muscle

Muscarinic cholinergic receptors have been classified into subtypes based on their high (M-1 subtype) or low (M-2 subtype) affinities for the nonclassic antagonist pirenzepine, and this classification has important experimental and therapeutic implications. Because muscarinic receptors are abundant in the airways where they mediate several different cellular responses, the goal of this study was to characterize the affinities of pirenzepine for the muscarinic receptors in bovine tracheal mucosa and smooth muscle. After isolating membrane particulates from mucosa and smooth muscle, as well as from bovine cerebral cortex (a known source of M-1 receptors), we used 3H-quinuclidinyl benzilate to label muscarinic receptors in the particulates and performed competition radioligand binding assays in the presence of either atropine or pirenzepine. Receptors from all 3 tissues (mucosa, smooth muscle, and cerebral cortex) were of a relatively uniform affinity for atropine (range of KI values: 0.8 +/- 0.4 X 10(-9) to 2.4 +/- 1.7 X 10(-9) M), as would be predicted for this classic muscarinic antagonist. By contrast, affinities for pirenzepine differed depending on the tissue. In cerebral cortex, the majority of receptors were of high affinity for pirenzepine (KI = 1.8 +/- 1.4 X 10(-8) M). In both mucosa and smooth muscle, receptors were of low affinity for pirenzepine (Kl = 4.8 +/- 0.4 to 6.9 +/- 3.8 X 10(-7) M). We conclude that muscarinic cholinergic receptors in bovine tracheal mucosa and smooth muscle are predominantly of the M-2 subtype