We investigated the contractile role of M 2 muscarinic receptors in mouse urinary bladder. When measured in the absence of other agents, contractions elicited to the muscarinic agonist oxotremorine-M exhibited properties consistent with that expected for an M 3 response in urinary bladder from wild-type and M 2 knockout (KO) mice. Evidence for a minor M 2 receptormediated contraction was revealed by a comparison of responses in M 3 knockout and M 2 /M 3 double knockout mice. Treatment of wild-type and M 2 knockout urinary bladder with N-2-chloroethyl-4-piperidinyl diphenylacetate (4-DAMP mustard) caused a large inhibition of the muscarinic contractile response. The residual contractions were much smaller in M 2 knockout bladder compared with wild type, suggesting that M 2 receptors rescue the muscarinic contractile response in wildtype bladder following inactivation of M 3 receptors with 4-DAMP mustard. When measured in the presence of prostaglandin F 2␣ and isoproterenol or forskolin, oxotremorine-M mediated a potent contractile response in urinary bladder from M 3 KO mice. This response exhibited an M 2 profile in competitive antagonism studies and was completely absent in M 2 /M 3 KO mice. Following 4-DAMP mustard treatment, oxotremorine-M elicited a contractile response in wild-type urinary bladder in the presence of KCl and isoproterenol or forskolin, and this response was diminished in M 2 KO mice. Our results show that the M 2 receptor mediates contractions indirectly in the urinary bladder by enhancing M 3 receptor-mediated contractions and inhibiting relaxation. We also show that it is difficult to detect M 2 receptor function in competitive antagonism studies under conditions where a simultaneous activation of M 2 and M 3 receptors occurs.Micturition is mediated through the actions of several neurotransmitters. Among those that directly influence the tone of urinary bladder smooth muscle, acetylcholine is important in contracting the reservoir and relaxing the outlet through activation of muscarinic receptors (de Groat and Yoshimura, 2001). Most evidence shows that it is the M 3 subtype of the muscarinic receptor that mediates the direct contractile response to acetylcholine in the urinary bladder. For example, the contractile response to muscarinic agonists exhibits an M 3 profile in competitive antagonism studies (Noronha-Blob et al., 1989;Longhurst et al., 1995;Choppin and Eglen, 2001), and these contractions are nearly absent in urinary bladder from M 3 muscarinic receptor knockout (M 3 KO) mice (Matsui et al., 2000). Male M 3 KO mice exhibit prominent urinary bladder distension in vivo, demonstrating the essential role of the M 3 receptor in micturition (Matsui et al., 2000). The small, direct contractile response that persists in urinary bladder from M 3 KO mice is completely lost in mice lacking both M 2 and M 3 muscarinic receptors (M 2 /M 3 KO mice), demonstrating that the M 2 receptor is capable of mediating very small contractions and that muscarinic recep-