Berberine possesses muscarinic agonist-like properties in cultured rodent cardiomyocytes

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Berberine, a natural product alkaloid, has been shown to display a wide array of pharmacological effects. Generally, the mechanism of action of each of these effects has not been well described. The aim of the present study is to test the hypothesis that some of berberine's cardiovascular effects are mediated through activation of cardiac M2 muscarinic cholinergic receptors. In our studies, we tested the ability of berberine to alter the contraction rate of cultured neonatal rodent cardiomyocytes. In these spontaneously contracting primary cultured cells, berberine reduced the contraction rate in a manner independent of β-adrenergic receptor blockade but sensitive to pertussis toxin, a Gi/o G protein inhibitor. Muscarinic antagonists completely blocked the effect of berberine on contraction rate of cardiomyocytes, whereas the effect of berberine was not opposed by antagonists to opioid, adenosine or α-adrenergic receptors. Further, berberine bound to muscarinic receptors of adult mouse heart membranes with relatively high affinity ( K i = 5.4 × 10 −6 M) comparable to that of the classic muscarinic agonist, carbachol, and to muscarinic M2 receptors exogenously expressed in HEK 293 cells ( K i = 4.9 × 10 −6 M). Therefore, the findings of the present study suggest that berberine is a muscarinic agonist at M2 receptors, potentially explaining some of its reported cardiovascular effects.