Abstract
The muscarinic effects of carbachol were compared on the isolated ileums of guinea-pig, rat and rabbit to elucidate the underlying mechanism of species differences in sensitivity for carbachol. The ED$\_$50/ value estimated on the guinea-pig ileum was 4 to 6-fold lower than those obtained on the rat and rabbit ileums, but the K$\_$A/ values of carbachol determined by functional assays were almost identical with 12-l7 ${\mu}$M in all of three ileums. The competition data of carbachol for [$^3$H]QNB binding were best described by a two-site model yielding the Ki values of 0.4-0.6${\mu}$M and 12-16${\mu}$M for high(K$\_$H/) and low(K$\_$L/) affinity sites, respectively. The low affinity dissociation constants(K$\_$L/) of carbachol determined from receptor binding studies thus were not significantly different from the K$\_$A/ values estimated from functional studies. The percentage of receptor occupation that carbachol requires for half-maximal response was approximately 3 to 5-fold lower in guinea-pig compared to rat and rabbit whereas the density of muscarinic binding sites per gram of ileum measured by [$^3$H]QNB saturation isotherms was two-fold higher in guinea-pig than that in rat and rabbit. Therefore, the numbers of muscarinic receptors occupied at ED$\_$50/ values of carbachol were about two-fold lower in guinea-pig, suggesting two-fold greater intrinsic efficacy. These results indicate that the guinea-pig ileum has higher muscarinic receptor density and greater intrinsic efficacy for carbachol than the rat and rabbit ileums.