M. Gattu et al., AUTORADIOGRAPHIC COMPARISON OF MUSCARINIC M2 AND M2 BINDING-SITES IN THE CNS OF SPONTANEOUSLY HYPERTENSIVE AND NORMOTENSIVE RATS, Brain research, 771(2), 1997, pp. 173-183
Spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) respond with exaggerated presser
responses of central origin in response to pharmacologic stimulation
of brain muscarinic receptors when compared with those to normotensive
Wistar Kyoto (WKY) rats. At least part of the enhanced response to ce
ntral muscarinic stimulation may be due to alterations in the expressi
on of one or more of the five subtypes of muscarinic receptors. SHR ar
e also known to exhibit regional alterations in the levels of mRNA enc
oding the M1, M2 and M4 receptors. Ln this study, we estimated the num
ber of specific muscarinic receptor binding sites in 12-week-old SHR a
nd WKY by measuring the binding of M1- and M2-selective ligands. Using
standard autoradiographic techniques, coronal sections obtained from
12-week-old SHR and WKY were incubated with [H-3]pirenzepine or [H-3]A
FDX 384 to label M1 and M2 receptors, respectively. Although both stra
ins exhibited similar distribution patterns for both binding sites, se
ctions derived from SHR expressed a significant increase in the number
of [H-3]pirenzepine binding sites compared to normotensive WKY in cau
date putamen, CA3 region of the hippocampus, cingulate cortex, substan
tia nigra, posterior hypothalamic area and tuberomammillary nucleus. A
n increased number of [H-3]AFDX 384 binding sites in SHR were observed
in the olfactory tubercle, nucleus accumbens, basolateral amygdaloid
nucleus, rostroventrolateral medulla and nucleus paragigantocellularis
. Decreases in the number of [H-3]AFDX 384 binding sites in SHR were a
lso observed in the parietal cortex, medial geniculate, and lateral hy
pothalamic area. Statistically significant site-selective differences
in binding densities between strains ranged from 4.0% to 35.5% of WKY
means. These alterations in the expression of M1 and M2 binding sites
in cardiovascular regions may contribute to the strain's hyper-respons
iveness to cholinergic drugs and possibly to the appearance of other a
utonomic or behavioral phenotypes exhibited by SHR, including the hype
rtensive state itself. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.