Skip to main content
PMC home page
British Journal of Pharmacology logoLink to British Journal of Pharmacology
. 1988 Apr;93(4):918–924. doi: 10.1111/j.1476-5381.1988.tb11480.x

Aging and cholinergic responses in bovine trachealis muscle.

M Wills 1, J S Douglas 1
PMCID: PMC1853884  PMID: 3390660

Abstract

1. The relative potencies of muscarinic agonists on bovine tracheal smooth muscle were unchanged as a consequence of aging and were carbachol greater than oxotremorine greater than muscarine greater than pilocarpine greater than McNeil A-343. 2. During aging, the potencies of carbachol, oxotremorine, McNeil A-343 and pilocarpine, but not muscarine, were reduced. 3. Maximal induced tensions to all the agents studied were reduced as a consequence of age. 4. Irreversible antagonism with benzilylcholine mustard showed that agonist efficacy was significantly reduced during aging. 5. Estimated receptor occupancy at the EC50 was significantly greater in tracheal tissues from the mature versus immature cows for every agonist studied. 6. The dissociation constants for full agonists (carbachol, oxotremorine and methacholine) were decreased with maturation while the converse was observed with partial agonists (McNeil A-343, pilocarpine). 7. We conclude that there are significant changes in the properties and coupling of muscarinic receptors during aging. These changes may contribute to the reduced airway reactivity seen in vivo.

Full text

PDF

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Andersson R. G., Kövesi G., Ericsson E. Beta-adrenoceptor stimulation and cyclic AMP levels in bovine tracheal muscle of old and young animals. Acta Pharmacol Toxicol (Copenh) 1978 Oct;43(4):323–327. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0773.1978.tb02273.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Barlow R. B., Scott N. C., Stephenson R. P. The affinity and efficacy of onium salts on the frog rectus abdominis. Br J Pharmacol Chemother. 1967 Sep;31(1):188–196. doi: 10.1111/j.1476-5381.1967.tb01989.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Besse J. C., Furchgott R. F. Dissociation constants and relative efficacies of agonists acting on alpha adrenergic receptors in rabbit aorta. J Pharmacol Exp Ther. 1976 Apr;197(1):66–78. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Brink C., Duncan P. G., Midzenski M., Douglas J. S. Response and sensitivity of female guinea-pig respiratory tissues to agonists during ontogenesis. J Pharmacol Exp Ther. 1980 Nov;215(2):426–433. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Cohen M. L., Berkowitz B. A. Age-related changes in vascular responsiveness to cyclic nucleotides and contractile agonists. J Pharmacol Exp Ther. 1974 Oct;191(1):147–155. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. DeLean A., Munson P. J., Rodbard D. Simultaneous analysis of families of sigmoidal curves: application to bioassay, radioligand assay, and physiological dose-response curves. Am J Physiol. 1978 Aug;235(2):E97–102. doi: 10.1152/ajpendo.1978.235.2.E97. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Derrick E. H. The significance of the age of onset of asthma. Med J Aust. 1971 Jun 19;1(25):1317–1319. doi: 10.5694/j.1326-5377.1971.tb88132.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Douglas J. S., Duncan P. G., Mukhopadhyay A. The antagonism of histamine-induced tracheal and bronchial muscle contraction by diphenhydramine: effect of maturation. Br J Pharmacol. 1984 Nov;83(3):697–705. doi: 10.1111/j.1476-5381.1984.tb16223.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Duncan P. G., Douglas J. S. Influences of gender and maturation on responses of guinea-pig airway tissues to LTD4. Eur J Pharmacol. 1985 Jun 19;112(3):423–427. doi: 10.1016/0014-2999(85)90792-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Fleisch J. H., Maling H. M., Brodie B. B. Beta-receptor activity in aorta; variations with age and species. Circ Res. 1970 Feb;26(2):151–162. doi: 10.1161/01.res.26.2.151. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Grandordy B. M., Cuss F. M., Sampson A. S., Palmer J. B., Barnes P. J. Phosphatidylinositol response to cholinergic agonists in airway smooth muscle: relationship to contraction and muscarinic receptor occupancy. J Pharmacol Exp Ther. 1986 Jul;238(1):273–279. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Nadel J. A., Barnes P. J. Autonomic regulation of the airways. Annu Rev Med. 1984;35:451–467. doi: 10.1146/annurev.me.35.020184.002315. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Nakagawa H., Oka M., Kimura A., Ohuchi T. Effect of age on the formation of cyclic nucleotides in guinea-pig tracheal smooth muscle in response to pharmacological agents. Eur J Pharmacol. 1986 Jun 17;125(2):211–216. doi: 10.1016/0014-2999(86)90029-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Roth G. S. Hormone receptor changes during adulthood and senescence: significance for aging research. Fed Proc. 1979 Apr;38(5):1910–1914. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Rothberg K. G., Morris P. L., Douglas J. S. Characterization of cholinergic muscarinic receptors in cow tracheal muscle membranes. Effect of maturation. Biochem Pharmacol. 1987 May 15;36(10):1687–1695. doi: 10.1016/0006-2952(87)90055-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Scarpace P. J., Abrass I. B. Decreased beta-adrenergic agonist affinity and adenylate cyclase activity in senescent rat lung. J Gerontol. 1983 Mar;38(2):143–147. doi: 10.1093/geronj/38.2.143. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Scott P. J., Reid J. L. The effect of age on the responses of human isolated arteries to noradrenaline. Br J Clin Pharmacol. 1982 Feb;13(2):237–239. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2125.1982.tb01365.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Smith J. M. Prevalence and Natural History of Asthma in Schoolchildren. Br Med J. 1961 Mar 11;1(5227):711–713. doi: 10.1136/bmj.1.5227.711. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Toda N., Hayashi S. Age-dependent alteration in the response of isolated rabbit basilar arteries to vasoactive agents. J Pharmacol Exp Ther. 1979 Dec;211(3):716–721. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Waud D. R. On the measurement of the affinity of partial agonists for receptors. J Pharmacol Exp Ther. 1969 Nov;170(1):117–122. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Weiss S. T., Tager I. B., Weiss J. W., Munoz A., Speizer F. E., Ingram R. H. Airways responsiveness in a population sample of adults and children. Am Rev Respir Dis. 1984 Jun;129(6):898–902. doi: 10.1164/arrd.1984.129.6.898. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Williams H., McNicol K. N. Prevalence, natural history, and relationship of wheezy bronchitis and asthma in children. An epidemiological study. Br Med J. 1969 Nov 8;4(5679):321–325. doi: 10.1136/bmj.4.5679.321. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from British Journal of Pharmacology are provided here courtesy of The British Pharmacological Society

RESOURCES