Expression of muscarinic receptor types in the primate ovary and evidence for nonneuronal acetylcholine synthesis.

The presence of muscarinic receptors (MR) in the ovary of different species has been recognized, but the identity of these receptors as well as ovarian sources of their natural ligand, acetylcholine (ACh), have not been determined. Because luteinized human granulosa cells (GC) in culture express functional MR, we have determined whether the group of the related MR subtypes, M1R, M3R, and M5R, are present in vivo in human and rhesus monkey ovaries. To this end, ribonucleic acids (RNAs) of different human and monkey ovaries as well as RNAs from human GC and monkey oocytes were reverse transcribed and subjected to PCR amplification, followed by sequencing of the amplified complementary DNAs. Results obtained showed that M1R, M3R, and M5R messenger RNAs are present in adult human and monkey ovaries; oocytes express exclusively the M3R subtype, whereas GC express M1R and M5R. To determine the ovarian source(s) of the natural ligand of these ACh receptors, we attempted to localize the enzyme responsible for its synthesis with the help of a monoclonal antibody recognizing choline acetyltransferase for immunohistochemistry. In neither human nor monkey sections did we detect immunoreactive choline acetyltransferase-positive fibers or nerve cells, but, surprisingly, GC of antral follicles showed prominent staining. To determine whether GC can produce ACh, human cultured GC derived from preovulatory follicles were analyzed using a high pressure liquid chromatography technique. The results showed that these cells contained ACh in concentrations ranging from 4.2-11.5 pmol/10(6) cells. Samples of a rat granulosa cell line likewise contained ACh. Thus, the ovary contains multiple MR, and GC of antral follicles are able to synthesize ACh, the ligand of MR. We propose that ACh may serve as an as yet unrecognized factor involved in the complex regulation of ovarian function in the primate, e.g. regulation of cell proliferation or progesterone production.

Prostanoids inhibit release of endogenous norepinephrine from rat isolated trachea.

Prostanoids, of epithelial origin, are known as modulators of several processes in the airways. The present study examined whether prostanoids are involved in the local control of sympathetic neurotransmission. The release of endogenous norepinephrine from rat isolated tracheae was evoked by electrical field stimulation (3 Hz, 540 pulses) in the presence of yohimbine, desipramine, and tyrosine. In different series of experiments, indomethacin (3 mumol/L) increased the evoked release of endogenous norepinephrine by 70 to 80%. In the presence of indomethacin, prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) and several prostanoid receptor agonists inhibited the evoked release of norepinephrine in a concentration-dependent manner, maximally by 60 to 70%. According to the concentration producing 35% inhibition of norepinephrine release (half-maximal effect), the following rank order of potencies was observed (EC35): nocloprost (8 nmol/L), sulprostone (30 nmol/L), PGE2 (308 nmol/L), iloprost (2 mumol/L), and U46619 (> 10 mumol/L). The EP1 receptor antagonist AH 6809 (3 mumol/L) had no effect on the evoked norepinephrine release and did not affect the inhibitory effect of 1 mumol/L of sulprostone. In the absence of indomethacin, the inhibitory effect of PGE2 was similar to that observed in the presence of indomethacin. After removal of the epithelium, the evoked norepinephrine release was markedly reduced. However, no significant effect of indomethacin was observed in epithelium-denuded tracheae. In conclusion, norepinephrine release in the rat trachea is inhibited via prostaglandin receptors that have the pharmacologic characteristics of the EP3 subtype. Endogenous eicosanoids, most likely of epithelial origin, are involved in the local control of the release of norepinephrine.

High pancuronium sensitivity of axonal nicotinic-acetylcholine receptors in humans during organophosphate intoxication.

The effect of low-dose pancuronium on neuromuscular transmission was studied in 2 patients during the early and late stages of severe organophosphate intoxication. Single evoked compound muscle action potentials (CMAP) were followed by repetitive discharges and a decrement-increment (D-I) phenomenon with 10-, 20-, and 50-Hz supramaximal nerve stimulation. Intravenous pancuronium, 1 mg, abolished the D-I phenomenon, while the repetitive discharges of the CMAP were only partially reduced. It is postulated, that the disappearance of the D-I phenomenon with persistence of the CMAP repetitive discharges results from blockade of nicotinic-acetylcholine receptors located on the terminal axon responsible for stimulus-induced antidromic backfiring. This response to a very low dose of pancuronium indicates a high sensitivity of the axonal nicotinic-acetylcholine receptor to pancuronium in humans, as had been previously postulated from animal experiments.