Subtypes of muscarinic cholinergic receptors have been proposed to exist, but the biochemical responses mediated by the putative subtypes are unknown. In the present study, muscarinic receptor-mediated phosphoinositide breakdown and inhibition of adenylate cyclase activity were characterized in rat brain as well as rat parotid and heart. To study whether these responses are mediated by separate subtypes of muscarinic receptors, the potencies of agonists and antagonists were determined in both assays. Antagonist potencies were calculated by Schild analysis. In the brain, the putatively selective muscarinic receptor antagonist, pirenzepine, exhibited Ki values of 21 nM in the assay of phosphoinositide breakdown and 310 nM in the assay of adenylate cyclase activity. Similarly, using radioligand binding techniques, it distinguished two binding sites with Kd values of 12 and 168 nM. The antagonist, atropine, on the other hand, was equipotent in the two biochemical assays and the radioligand binding assay with Ki values of approximately 1 to 2 nM. In peripheral tissues with robust muscarinic receptor-mediated phosphoinositide (parotid) and adenylate cyclase (heart) responses, pirenzepine exhibited a similar selectivity (19-fold) for the phosphoinositide assay that was seen in the brain, but it was 6- to 7-fold less potent in both peripheral tissues than in the central nervous system. In addition, the potencies of pirenzepine in binding and functional studies in each tissue were not as well correlated as in the brain. Atropine and other antagonists were 4- to 9-fold selective for inhibiting oxotremorine-stimulated phosphoinositide breakdown in the peripheral tissues.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)