Is field (vagal) stimulation of gastric acid secretion mediated by M1 or non-M1 muscarinic receptors? A methodical problem exemplified in the mouse stomach in vitro.

1. Highly controversial claims have been put forward in the literature as to the involvement of either M1 or non-M1 muscarinic receptors in the field (vagal) stimulation of gastric acid secretion. This mini-review considers three available sets of data obtained in the mouse isolated, lumen-perfused stomach. 2. While pA2 values seemed to favour non-M1 receptors, a comparison between M1 selective versus non-selective antagonists on the one hand and field stimulation versus bethanechol stimulation on the other clearly pointed to M1 receptors being involved. 3. In the present review we discuss a novel experimental approach supporting the latter concept of M1 receptors. This novel approach provides a simple though provocative way to deal with the particular difficulties in determining pA2 values in the acid-secreting gastric mucosa. It is based on the rank order in the effects of different antagonists relative to their receptor type-dependent affinities, when employed at a fixed concentration, rather than on their pA2 values.