The GAR-3 Muscarinic Receptor Cooperates With Calcium Signals to Regulate Muscle Contraction in the Caenorhabditis elegans Pharynx

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Abstract
Muscarinic acetylcholine receptors regulate the activity of neurons and muscle cells through G-protein-coupled cascades. Here, we identify a pathway through which the GAR-3 muscarinic receptor regulates both membrane potential and excitation-contraction coupling in the Caenorhabditis elegans pharyngeal muscle. GAR-3 signaling is enhanced in worms overexpressing gar-3 or lacking GPB-2, a G-protein β-subunit involved in RGS-mediated inhibition of Goα- and Gqα-linked pathways. High levels of signaling through GAR-3 inhibit pharyngeal muscle relaxation and impair feeding—but do not block muscle repolarization—when worms are exposed to arecoline, a muscarinic agonist. Loss of gar-3 function results in shortened action potentials and brief muscle contractions in the pharyngeal terminal bulb. High levels of calcium entry through voltage-gated channels also impair terminal bulb relaxation and sensitize worms to the toxic effects of arecoline. Mutation of gar-3 reverses this sensitivity, suggesting that GAR-3 regulates calcium influx or calcium-dependent processes. Because the effects of GAR-3 signaling on membrane depolarization and muscle contraction can be separated, we conclude that GAR-3 regulates multiple calcium-dependent processes in the C. elegans pharyngeal muscle.