Transient activation of K+ channels by carbachol in bovine pigmented ciliary body epithelial cells

The action of carbachol (CCh) on isolated pigmented ciliary epithelial cells was examined using whole cell patch-clamp recording. Application of 100 microM CCh caused transient, occasionally oscillatory, increases in the inward and outward currents, followed by a long-term decrease in both currents. Caffeine produced transient responses similar to those of CCh. The responses to CCh were blocked by the muscarinic receptor antagonist atropine and the inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor blocker heparin (200 micrograms/ml in patch pipette). Manipulation of the internal ionic concentrations indicated that only K+ conductances were affected by CCh. Changing intracellular Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) with the calcium ionophore ionomycin demonstrated that both the inward rectifier K+ current and the outward current exhibited Ca2+ dependence. There was no Cl- current stimulated either directly by CCh or indirectly by modulators of [Ca2+]i, and any Cl- currents present arose from osmotic effects. In the short term, muscarinic stimulation will activate K+ channels by causing a transient increase in [Ca2+]i. This effect only lasts for 1-5 min, however, and, in the long term, the conductance decreases below its original level. The effect of such a transient increase in [Ca2+]i on secretion would be complex, involving effects on gap junction communication between the pigmented and nonpigmented cell layers and the activation state of Cl- channels in the nonpigmented cells. This complexity probably accounts for the variable reports of the effects of muscarinic stimulation of the ciliary body in vivo.