TY - JOUR T1 - Scanning microfluorimetric studies of anticholinergic drugs in Schistosoma mansoni. JF - Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics JO - J Pharmacol Exp Ther SP - 992 LP - 997 VL - 207 IS - 3 AU - G R Hillman AU - A M Gibler AU - J W Anderson Y1 - 1978/12/01 UR - http://jpet.aspetjournals.org/content/207/3/992.abstract N2 - A microfluorimetric technique has been used to analyze fluorescence in specimens of Schistosoma mansoni labeled with a dansylated analog of acetylcholine. Anticholinergic drugs inhibit the fluorescent labeling of living specimens. The effectiveness of anticholinergic agents can be expressed as a fractional decrease in observed fluorescence of specimens, and several drugs have been compared in this context. Atropine, eserine, carbachol and mecamylamine block fluorescence only at high concentrations (10(-4)--10(-3) M) while trifluoperazine and hycanthone block strongly at lower concentrations (10(-5) M). The findings reported here suggest that the relative activity of anticholinergic drugs is different in schistosomes and vertebrates. ER -