Abstract
The nature of the muscarinic receptors in bovine adrenal medulla was investigated in this study. [$^3$H]Quinuclidinyl benzilate(QNB) specifically bound to a single class of muscarinic receptor with a $K_{D}$ value of about 70 pM in bovine adrenal medullary, cardiac ventricular and ileal homogenates. Pirenzepine inhibition curves of [$^3$H]QNB binding to cardiac ventricular and ileal homogenates were steep, indicating the presence of a single class of binding site for pirenzepine with a Ki value of 990 nM and 508 nM, respectively. However, pirenzepine/[$^3$H]QNB competition binding curves in adrenal medulla suggested the presence of two binding sites (Hill coefficient=0.59) with a high( $M_1$) and a low( $M_2$) affinity. Respective Ki values for pirenfepine were 16 nM and 633 nM, with 44% of total sites having a high affinity( $M_1$). Gallamine, which is selective to cardiac $M_2$-receptor, inhibited [$^3$H]QNB binding to adrenal medullary, cardiac ventricular and ileal homogenates with Ki values of 12 $\mu$M, 6 $\mu$M and 13 $\mu$M, respectively. Thus, the binding affinities of pirenzepine and gallamine for $M_2$-receptor in adrenal medulla were similar to those in ileum, which contains the $M_3$-receptor. These results indicate that the $M_1$- and $M_3$- muscarinic receptor subtypes coexist in the bovine adrenal medulla.a.