Pharmacology · Respiratory and GIT Pharmacology

Tiotropium provides sustained bronchodilation in COPD with once-daily dosing. The properties underlying this profile are:

  • A Nonselective muscarinic antagonism with a short plasma half-life requiring slow release formulation
  • B Kinetically selective binding to M3 receptors with very slow dissociation
  • C Irreversible covalent blockade of all muscarinic receptor subtypes
  • D Selective M2 receptor antagonism enhancing cholinergic bronchodilation
Correct answer: B. Kinetically selective binding to M3 receptors with very slow dissociation

Explanation

Tiotropium is a long-acting muscarinic antagonist whose duration comes from kinetic selectivity: it dissociates very slowly from M3 receptors on airway smooth muscle while separating rapidly from M2 receptors. This gives prolonged functional M3 blockade with once-daily dosing and avoids loss of the presynaptic M2 autoinhibitory brake on acetylcholine release. The binding is reversible, not covalent, and the drug is not a nonselective short-acting agent like ipratropium.

Reference: Katzung Basic and Clinical Pharmacology, 15th ed.

High-yield for: NEET PGINI-CETNExTFMGEUSMLEPLABMRCP

Written and medically reviewed by the StethoPrep medical team.

Sponsored

Want to test yourself?

Create a free account for timed mock tests, mistake tracking, and FSRS spaced-repetition revision across 43,000+ MCQs.

Start free → Log in

More Respiratory and GIT Pharmacology MCQs

See all Respiratory and GIT Pharmacology MCQs →