LAUSR

ABSTRACT Muscarinic receptor stimulation induces depolarizing inward currents and catecholamine secretion in adrenal medullary (AM) cells from various mammals. In guinea‐pig AM cells muscarine and oxotremorine at concentrations ≤ 1 &mgr;M produce activation of nonselective cation channels with a similar potency and efficacy, whereas muscarine at higher concentrations produces not only nonselective cation channel activation, but also TASK1 channel inhibition. In rat AM cells, the muscarinic M1 receptor is involved in TASK1 channel inhibition in response to muscarinic agonists, and the efficacy of oxotremorine is half that of muscarine. These pharmacological findings might indicate that different muscarinic receptor subtypes are responsible for the regulation of nonselective cation and TASK1 channel activities. The present study aimed to determine the muscarinic receptor subtypes involved in nonselective cation channel activation in guinea‐pig and mouse AM cells. The inward current evoked by 1 &mgr;M muscarine was completely suppressed by 100 &mgr;M quinine, whereas 30 &mgr;M muscarine‐induced inward currents were comprised of quinine‐sensitive and ‐insensitive components. The electrophysiological and pharmacological properties of the muscarine‐induced currents indicated that the quinine‐sensitive and insensitive components are due to nonselective cation channel activation and TASK1 channel inhibition, respectively. Muscarine at 30 &mgr;M failed to induce any current in AM cells treated with muscarinic toxin 7 or genetically deleted of the M1 receptor. The KD value of VU0255035 against the muscarinic receptor mediating nonselective cation channel activation was 17.5 nM. These results indicate that the M1 receptor mediates nonselective cation channel activation as well as TASK1 channel inhibition.