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GASTROINTESTINAL, HEPATIC, PULMONARY, AND RENAL
Departments of Urology (A.S.B., M.R.R.) and Pharmacology (R.J.T., M.R.R.), Temple University School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Received January 22, 2008; accepted March 12, 2008.
| Abstract |
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In the urinary bladder, although cholinergic contractions are predominantly M3 receptor mediated, the M2 subtype contributes to contraction in rats (Braverman and Ruggieri, 2003
; Gevaert et al., 2006
) and humans (Pontari et al., 2004
; Braverman et al., 2007
). In addition, the M2 receptor mediates esophageal muscle contraction and contributes to lower esophageal sphincter contraction after induction of esophagitis (Biancani et al., 1992
). Based on the potency of subtype selective muscarinic receptor antagonists, no contractile role for the M2 receptor has been described in the mouse bladder (Choppin and Eglen, 2001
). Even when the majority of M3 receptors are inactivated using 4-diphenlacetoxy-N-methylpiperidine methiodide mustard in an environment of β-adrenergic receptor activation, the M2 receptor in the mouse urinary bladder does not appear to have a contractile function (Choppin, 2002
). This is in contrast to findings in the rat (Braverman and Ruggieri, 1999
) or pig (Yamanishi et al., 2002
) urinary bladder and guinea pig ileum or trachea (Ostrom and Ehlert, 1999
), in which the M2 receptor does play a role in contraction after M3 receptor inactivation with 4-diphenlacetoxy-N-methylpiperidine methiodide mustard and augmentation of intracellular cAMP.
Results using M2, M3, and combined M2/M3 knockout (KO) mice demonstrate that although the M2 receptor is capable of producing only a minor contraction in the urinary bladder (approximately 5% of wild type), the M2 receptor in the stomach body can mediate a contraction that is approximately 35% of wild type (Matsui et al., 2000
; Stengel et al., 2000
; Bymaster et al., 2001
). A major limitation of previously used mathematical models lies in the underlying assumption that a single receptor mediates a given response. It is becoming increasing clear that many responses to a given agonist, including smooth muscle contraction, are mediated by more than one receptor subtype. This requires new data analysis methods.
Isobolar analysis, historically important in pharmacological investigations that began with Loewe (1953
) and greatly expanded and applied by Tallarida (2000
, 2006
, 2007
), is based on the concept of dose equivalence of two compounds, i.e., doses of the individual compounds that give the same effect. Briefly stated, dose a of drug A has its equivalent of drug B, which we may denote beq. Thus, an actual dose pair (a + b) is taken as beq + b. This added quantity is then used in drug B's dose-effect equation to yield the predicted effect (E), thereby providing E as a function of combination dose pairs (a, b). A useful visual is the isobole, a graph derived from the above function that plots a, b combinations that give a constant level of effect. Because this derived graph uses the numerical addition (b + beq) of the occupancies derived from each receptor subtype for the same agent (carbachol), the graph is an occupancy isobole. Whether derived for two drugs or two different receptors with the same drug, the isobole allows a determination of the additive combination and, thus, provides a basis for comparing an experimental combination for departures from additivity. If the experimental combination (point) is below the isobole, the combination is synergistic, whereas a point above the isobole means subadditivity.
Until recently, major attention has not been directed toward the analysis of dual receptor-mediated effects, especially in circumstances in which no completely selective agonists or antagonists are available, as is the case for muscarinic receptors. The aims of the present study were to use a novel approach, a method based on isobolar analysis, to determine whether there is an interaction between M2- and M3-mediated contractile signal transduction mechanisms in the mouse stomach.
| Materials and Methods |
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Muscle Strips. Stomachs were removed from mice euthanized by N2 asphyxiation after isoflurane anesthesia. Both the fundus and the antrum were removed, the stomach body was opened along the long axis, and muscle strips were cut aligned with the circular muscle fibers (approximately 2 x 5 mm). The muscle strips were then suspended with 0.5 g of tension in tissue baths containing 10 ml of modified Tyrode's solution (125 mM NaCl, 2.7 mM KCl, 0.4 mM NaH2PO4, 1.8 mM CaCl2, 0.5 mM MgCl2, 23.8 mM NaHCO3, and 5.6 mM glucose) and equilibrated with 95/5% O2/CO2 at 37°C.
Carbachol Concentration Response. After equilibration to the bath solution for 30 min, the contractile response induced by 120 mM potassium in isotonic Tyrode's solution was recorded. The strips were incubated for 30 min either in the absence or presence of atropine (30, 100, and 300 nM), then concentration response curves were derived from the peak tension developed after cumulative addition of carbachol (10 nM to 300 µM final bath concentration) and normalized to the initial 120 mM KCl response. In this experimental paradigm, each muscle strip was exposed to either atropine or vehicle, followed by graded doses of carbachol to yield the concentration-effect data.
Theory and Data Analysis. Concentration-effect data for carbachol, obtained using stomach body from M2-KO, M3-KO, and wild-type (containing both M2 and M3 receptors) mice were collected, and the concentrations were subsequently transformed to fractional receptor occupation-effect values. This transformation uses each muscarinic receptor's dissociation constant (K) for carbachol and the concentration [C] in the equilibrium mass-action formula, [C]/([C] + K}), where the appropriate Ks for the M2 and M3 receptor are inserted. The K values for carbachol, obtained from the National Institute of Mental Health's Psychoactive Drug Screening Program (PDSP; Contract NO1MH32004), are as follows: 2.75 µM for M2 and 62 µM for M3 occupancy. The value used for the K of carbachol at the M2 receptor, which is known to be influenced by GTP, was based on determinations made in the absence of GTP. This K value is similar to the affinity we have previously determined in the absence of GTP for carbachol displacement of [3H]N-methyl scopolamine binding in rat urinary bladder membranes (Wang et al., 1995
). The resulting occupancy-effect data for the M2 and the M3 muscarinic receptor are fitted to equations of the usual form given below and accomplished with standard nonlinear regression (for example, see Tallarida, 2000
).
Occupation fraction at M2, denoted by x, gives effect E as follows: E = (EAxq)/(xq + CAq) (x
1), where the constants, EA, CA, and q (Hill coefficient) are determined by standard nonlinear regression. Occupation fraction at M3, denoted by y, gives effect E as follows: E = (EByp)/(yp + CBp) (y
1), with parameters EB, CB, and p also determined by nonlinear regression. The two occupation-effect relations are then used in an isobolar analysis as previously described (Tallarida, 2006
, 2007
) and further elaborated here using a graph (Fig. 1) to illustrate the genesis of the occupation isobole.
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The above occupation-effect equations allow a determination of the equieffective occupations by equating their right-hand sides, an operation that yields y in terms of x and, thus, the y-equivalent of occupation x, as given below after algebraic manipulation:
![]() | (1) |
The sum, yeq + y, must add to the fractional y-occupancy that gives the desired effect (point 3 in Fig. 1) and that y is denoted here by Y3; thus, y + yeq = Y3 or
![]() | (2) |
Equation 2 is the additive isobole. It is called additive because it is based on the addition of occupancies, y + yeq, which is equivalent to the dose addition concept that underlies the usual two-drug isobole. In this application, the isobole defines the fractional occupation pairs (x, y) that are expected to give this effect level. In other words, if the desired effect is experimentally achieved by an occupation pair on this curve, there is no interaction between the occupied receptors. The isobole, generally, is a curvilinear relation (Grabovsky and Tallarida, 2004
) (for the parameter values, the value of Y3, and the consequent isobole equation in the current application, see Results). Thus, the isobole is a curve of constant effect for all combinations of M2 and M3 fractional occupancy. The isobole so derived allows a determination of the expected occupancy pair in the wild type that contains both receptor types. The experiment in the wild-type preparation gives the value of the agonist concentration and, thus, the occupation pair for that concentration that is actually needed to attain the specified effect. That experimentally derived occupation pair is then plotted as a single point on the graph containing the isobole, and that point's location in relation to the isobole allows the determination of any interaction between occupied receptors as described under Results.
In experiments with the competitive inhibitor atropine in fixed concentration [B], the fractional agonist occupation of either receptor at equilibrium is no longer [C]/([C] + K); instead, it is given by the well known equation for competitive block (Gaddum, 1937
): {[C]/([C] + K (1 + [B]/KB)}, where K and KB are the dissociation constants for carbachol (National Institute of Mental Health PDSP database) and atropine (Caulfield, 1993
; Caulfield and Birdsall, 1998
), respectively, at the receptor of interest. At the M2 muscarinic receptor, these are K = 2.75 µM and KB = 1.26 nM, whereas at the M3 receptor, these are K = 62 µM and KB = 0.316 nM.
The complexity of the isobole equation precludes an exact calculation of its variance. As a result, variance estimates were made by the delta method, a well known technique of statistical analysis that is based on a truncated Taylor series expansion (Oehlert, 1992
).
| Results |
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![]() | (3) |
![]() | (4) |
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To assess the experimental values of (x, y) that gave this effect level, we administered carbachol to the wild-type preparation, thereby occupying both receptors. Its fitted concentration-effect relation was determined to be E = 79.39 [C]/{[C] + 1.11}; thus, the 40% effect required a concentration of 1.127 ± 0.17 µM. This concentration corresponds to occupation values of 0.291 for the M2 receptor and 0.0179 for the M3 receptor. It is seen to be below the isobole, but, due to large variances, its location does not differ significantly. Effectively, this means that the interaction between M2- and M3-occupied receptors is simply additive for this agonist and tissue preparation. In contrast to this experimental point, the expected (additive) point is also located by following the broken curve (1) of the isobologram, which shows the path of M2-M3 occupation as the agonist concentration changes. The intersection of this path with the isobole is the position on the isobole that is the additive point.
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In the classic one-receptor theory (and its use in Schild analysis), determining equal effects in the presence and absence of a competitive antagonist means equal receptor occupation by the agonist in both cases. However, in the two-receptor case considered here, equal effects means something a bit different, namely that the receptor occupation pairs lie on the same isobole for the selected effect level.
The occupancy isoboles shown in Fig. 5 were based on values of carbachol affinity determined in the absence of GTP in which the affinity for carbachol is much higher for M2 receptors than M3 receptors. The analysis with occupational isoboles used here is robust in the sense that possible uncertainties in the values of dissociation constants do not appreciably alter the results of the analysis. To illustrate this point, we show in Fig. 7 the results of calculating under the assumption that both M2 and M3 receptors have the same affinity for carbachol (62 µM), a phenomenon that occurs in the presence of 100 µM GTP (Wang et al., 1995
), a concentration that approximates intracellular GTP concentrations (Hatakeyama et al., 1992
). Additivity is still the outcome due to the fact that both the isobole and the occupation path are moved by this change in K values and, thus, the distance between the additive intersection and the experimental point remains small (a nonsignificant difference) as in the main analysis where different K values (2.75 and 62 µM) from the database were used.
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| Discussion |
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The occupation effect curves (Fig. 4) show that the receptor occupancy ratio for equivalent effect is variable; thus, the isobole of additivity derived from them (Fig. 5) is a nonlinear curve containing points (occupation pairs) that give a constant effect level, in this case 40% of the KCl maximum. The isobole is a relationship between occupied receptors that follows from their individual potencies (as determined in the knockouts). The experimentally derived occupation values (points) in the wild-type preparation are not statistically significantly different from the points on the isobole, thereby confirming the theory and further showing that the interaction between these two muscarinic receptors is simply additive, a result not previously shown quantitatively. Thus, this study is the first to document that the interaction between the contractile signal transmitted by the M2 and the M3 receptor subtypes is additive in the mouse stomach body. This study also demonstrates the needed expansion of receptor theory for cases in which an effect is mediated by two different receptor subtypes. This is especially notable in the analysis of competitive inhibition experiments. In the classic one-receptor theory and its use in Schild analysis, determining equal effects in the presence and absence of a competitive antagonist means equal receptor occupation by the agonist in both cases, which is the cornerstone of Schild analysis. However, in the two-receptor case (exemplified here), equal effects mean something different, namely that the receptor occupation pairs lie on the same isobole for the selected effect level.
M2 and M3 receptor signal transduction mechanisms also interact in an additive manner in the normal rat bladder. However, this is not the case in the denervated rat bladder, where the interaction becomes synergistic. There is also a synergistic interaction in the normal rat bladder when intracellular calcium signaling is perturbed following inhibition of the sarcoplasmic reticulum calcium ATPase (Braverman et al., 2002
).
Although the M2 receptors seem to have a minor role in mediating contraction of the wild-type mouse stomach body, M2 receptors are capable of mediating a moderate contraction in the absence of M3 receptors as seen in the M3-KO animals. However, their main function may be to serve as a redundant or back up contractile source if M3 receptors or some component of the M3 contractile signal transduction cascade become dysfunctional.
Occupation of 3% of M3 receptors results in a contraction equal to 40% of the KCl-induced maximum. This assessment is based on the concentration effect data and the binding affinity of carbachol for the M2 and M3 muscarinic receptor subtypes. The low receptor occupancy at half-maximal effect suggests a relatively large M3 receptor reserve for contraction in the mouse stomach body. The maximal contraction elicited by the M2 receptor is less than half (44%) the maximal contraction elicited by the M3 receptor. The density of M2 receptors is greater than M3 receptors in most smooth muscles, including the stomach (Eglen, 2001
). Thus, one third the number of M3 receptors mediates an effect of a magnitude that is approximately twice as great as M2 receptors. Because each M3 receptor mediates a greater contractile effect than each M2 receptor, the M3 subtype is more efficient in mediating contraction than the M2 receptor subtype.
Although the isobolar analysis demonstrates the additive nature of the interaction, it provides no mechanistic interpretation. Toward this end, previous studies from this laboratory using knockout mice, published in preliminary form (Braverman et al., 2006
), have shown that M2 and M3 receptor-mediated stomach contractions are dependent on different intracellular signaling mechanisms. M2-mediated contractions are inhibited by the selective rho kinase inhibitor Y-27632, whereas M3-mediated contractions are not. In addition, the selective protein kinase C inhibitor, chelerythrine, only attenuates M3-mediated contractions. Thus, the difference in coupling efficiency is probably explained by the different intracellular signaling cascades mediated by the M2 and the M3 subtypes in this preparation.
The isobole is especially useful in the analysis of data with a competitive antagonist. With a single receptor type, equal effects in the absence and presence of a competitive inhibitor imply equal receptor occupation by the agonist. In contrast, in the dual receptor situation, applicable here and probably applicable in most instances, equal effects indicate that the fractional occupation pairs lie on the same isobole. Thus, experiments were performed using the nonselective, competitive muscarinic receptor antagonist atropine. The use of atropine confirms the additive interaction by M2 and M3 receptors in that the experimental value is not different from that of the additive isobole curve. This not only further confirms that the interaction is additive but also provides additional support for the validity of this new method of analysis. The lack of availability of completely selective muscarinic receptor subtype agents required the use of KO mice for these studies. However, this analysis method is also useful when pharmacological occlusion of one subtype of receptors is possible with agonists or antagonists that are extremely selective.
| Acknowledgements |
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| Footnotes |
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ABBREVIATIONS: KO, knockout; PDSP, Psychoactive Drug Screening Program; Y-27632, (R)-(+)-trans-4-(1-aminoethyl)-N-(4-pyridyl)cyclohexanecarboxamide dihydrochloride.
Address correspondence to: Dr. Michael R. Ruggieri, Sr., Temple University School of Medicine, 715 OMS, 3400 North Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA 19140. E-mail: rugg{at}temple.edu
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