Muscarinic agonist, antagonists and signaling pathway inhibitors change c-Fos and cyclin D-1 expression in K562 cells

Abstract

Objectives: Muscarinic acetylcholine receptors (mAChR) belong to a family of G protein coupled receptors (GPCRs). These mAChRs regulate several important physiological functions by activating a wide variety of cellular signaling pathways. We have previously shown that muscarinic acetylcholine (M-2, M-3 and M-4) receptors are expressed in K562 cells. In this study, we investigated the effect of muscarinic agonist, antagonists and different signaling pathway inhibitors on c-Fos and cyclin D-1 transcripts, using reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) that allows changes of very rare transcripts to be monitored. Material and Methods: Total RNA was prepared from K562 cells challenged with muscarinic agonist, antagonists and inhibitors. c-Fos and cyclin D-1 expression were determined by RT-PCR. Results: We showed that treatment with muscarinic agonist, antagonists and inhibitors leads to changes in c-Fos and cyclin D-1 expression in K562 cells. Conclusions: Our results suggest that muscarinic receptors regulate expression of c-Fos and cyclin D-1 genes in K562 cells via different signaling pathways.