Different tachykinin receptor subtypes are coupled to the phosphoinositide or cyclic AMP signal transduction pathways in rat submandibular cells.

Tachykinins of different classes (NK1, NK2, NK3) caused the concentration-dependent synthesis of IP3 in rat submandibular acinar cells with the potency rank order of NK1 greater than NK2 greater than NK3. Enhancement of IP3 was not affected by pertussis toxin treatment. The reverse rank order was found in the tachykinin inhibition of isoproterenol-induced cAMP synthesis and this inhibition was abolished by pertussis toxin, an inactivator of the adenylate cyclase Gi regulatory protein. It is suggested that different tachykinin receptor subtypes are preferentially coupled to phospholipase C or adenylate cyclase by separate G regulatory proteins in rat submandibular acinar cells.