Question

How does cholinergics increase bodily secretions

Answer 1

Cholinergic drug are helpful to mimic the body's parasympathetic nervous system by producing the same effect of acetylcholine. They act on receptors that are activated by acetylcholine. There are two families of cholinoceptors: muscarinic and nicotin. There are five subclasses of muscarinic receptors from M1 to M5, only M1,M2 and M3 are functionally characterised. When M1 and M2 receptors are activated, it undergoes a conformational change and it interacts with G proteins which inturn activates phospholipase C and hence leads to hydrolysis of phosphatidylinositol bisphophate to produce diacylglycerol and inspired which caused an increase in intracellular calcium thus results in increase in bodily secretions.