Confocal calcium imaging to study the molecular pharmacology of methacholine and atropine on muscarinic receptors.

Introduction: Many studies are studying the pharmacology of important ligands on different receptors. Cholinergic receptors are one of the interested fields to study; as it is connected to many diseases and particularly Parkinson and Alzheimer. Objective: The aim of the research is to study the molecular pharmacology of atropine and methacholine on muscarinic acetylcholine receptors using confocal microscope to measure Ca level. Moreover, atropine and methacholine are used to study their molecular pharmacology on cholinergic receptors and especially muscarinic one on neuroblastoma cells (SHSY5Y). Materials and Methods: The method was designed to treat SH-SY5Y cells with two different ligands (methacholine and atropine) separately, and then, atropine was added before loaded the cells with methacholine. Results: The results are as follows: Methacholine shows agonist effect with high potency while atropine is very controversial because it can be explained as either allosteric modulator or non-competitive antagonist in addition to its already approved competitive mechanism. Conclusion: In conclusion, atropine can be investigated for more pharmacological mechanisms which can help in different pathological conditions and specifically in neurological disorder. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]