Muscarine receptors on the rat phrenic nerve, evidence for positive and negative muscarinic feedback mechanisms.

Neuronal transmitter stores of the rat phrenic nerve were labelled by incubation with [3H]choline. Release of [3H]acetylcholine was elicited by electrical nerve stimulation (100 or 1,500 pulses, 5 or 25 Hz) or by high potassium (27 mmol/l) and the effects of the muscarine receptor agonist oxotremorine and the antagonist scopolamine were investigated. Neither oxotremorine nor scopolamine affected the basal tritium efflux. A low concentration of oxotremorine (10 nmol/l) enhanced and a high concentration of oxotremorine (1 mumol/l) reduced the electrically evoked [3H]acetylcholine release. Likewise, the high potassium-evoked [3H]acetylcholine release was reduced by a high concentration of oxotremorine. Both effects of oxotremorine, increase and decrease, were abolished by a pretreatment (30 min before the first stimulation period) with 0.1 mumol/l scopolamine. Scopolamine (0.1 mumol/l) alone, enhanced [3H]acetylcholine release evoked by 100 pulses (5 Hz) or by high potassium. Scopolamine, however, reduced [3H]acetylcholine release evoked by 1,500 pulses (5 Hz or 25 Hz). The concentration-response curves obtained for scopolamine under these latter stimulation conditions were flat-running and biphasic which might indicate the involvement of two opposite effects (increase and decrease) of scopolamine under the present stimulation conditions. Both effects of scopolamine were reduced in the presence of 10 mumol/l neostigmine.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)