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Activation of rat uterine myometrial muscarinic receptors with a variety of agonists results in increased phosphatidylinositol metabolism. Activation with carbachol is concentration- and time-dependent and is most apparent by following the accumulation of inositol monophosphate although there are small but significant increases of inositol bisphosphate and inositol trisphosphate. Carbachol stimulation of phospholipid turnover is greatest in the upper third of the uterus. The carbachol-induced increase of inositol monophosphate is antagonized by atropine and by the selective M-3 muscarinic receptor antagonist 4-diphenylacetoxy-N-methylpiperidine methobromide. Pirenzepine, a selective M-1 receptor antagonist is less active, whereas gallamine and 11-2[[(diethylamino)methyl]-1-piperidinyl]acetyl]-5, 11-dihydro-6H-pyrido[2,3-b][1,4]benzodiazepine-6-one, selective M-2 receptor antagonists, are minimally effective suggesting that muscarinic M-3 receptors modulate phospholipid turnover in the rat myometrium. Displacement of tritium-quinuclidinyl benzilate binding by muscarinic antagonists also supports the presence of M-3 receptors in the uterus. Incubation with phorbol 12, 13-dibutyrate significantly reduced the accumulation of inositol monophosphate induced by carbachol implying that protein kinase C might modulate the responsiveness of the M-3 receptors in the rat uterus. Our results suggest that the intracellular concentration of calcium required for the contraction of the rat myometrium may be modulated, in part, through M-3 muscarinic receptors coupled to phospholipase C-activated turnover of phosphoinositides.