Journal
RECEPTORS & CHANNELS
Volume 9, Issue 4, Pages 279-290Publisher
TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD
DOI: 10.3109/10606820308262
Keywords
acetylcholine; gene targeting; knockout mice; muscarinic agonists; muscarinic receptors; oxotremorine
Categories
Funding
- NHLBI NIH HHS [HL-62984, HL-38901, HL-39050] Funding Source: Medline
- NINDS NIH HHS [NS-24621] Funding Source: Medline
Ask authors/readers for more resources
A large body of evidence indicates that muscarinic acetylcholine receptors (mAChRs) play critical roles in regulating the activity of many important functions of the central and peripheral nervous systems. However, identification of the physiological and pathophysiological roles of the individual mAChR subtypes (M-1-M-5) has proven a difficult task, primarily due to the lack of ligands endowed with a high degree of receptor subtype selectivity and the fact that most tissues and organs express multiple mAChRs. To circumvent these difficulties, we used gene targeting technology to generate mutant mouse lines containing inactivating mutations of the M-1-M-5 mAChR genes. The different mAChR mutant mice and the corresponding wild-type control animals were subjected to a battery of physiological, pharmacological, behavioral, biochemical, and neurochemical tests. The M-1-M-5 mAChR mutant mice were viable and reproduced normally. However, each mutant line displayed specific functional deficits, suggesting that each mAChR subtype mediates distinct physiological functions. These results should offer new perspectives for the rational development of novel muscarinic drugs.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available