Suppression of strychnine on the chronotropic and inotropic effects in the isolated, blood-perfused canine atrium

In the isolated, blood-perfused dog atrium, strychnine evoked dose-dependent decreases in atrial rate and contractile force, and the negative cardiac effects were not influenced by atropine. Strychnine suppressed dose-dependently the negative chronotropic and inotropic responses to intramural parasympathetic nerve stimulation, but not the response to acetylcholine. These results suggest that strychnine has direct cardiac depressant properties and inhibits the release of acetylcholine from parasympathetic nerve terminals in isolated dog atrium.     

Anti-nicotinic and anti-muscarinic actions of eperisone in the isolated canine atrium

The effects of eperisone, an antispastic agent, on the chronotropic and inotropic responses to acetylcholine, nicotine or stimulation of intracardiac autonomic nerves were evaluated in isolated, blood-perfused canine atrium. Eperisone (10-300 micrograms) injected into the sinus node artery of the isolated atrium produced dose-related negative chronotropic and inotropic effects, which were not affected by atropine. In the same doses, eperisone inhibited the negative chronotropic and inotropic responses to an injection of acetylcholine and intracardiac parasympathetic stimulation. Eperisone also suppressed the negative followed by positive cardiac responses to nicotine, but did not modify the positive responses to intracardiac sympathetic stimulation or norepinephrine. The inhibitory effect persisted much longer for the responses to nicotine or parasympathetic stimulation than for those to acetylcholine. These results suggest that eperisone at doses that induce direct cardiac depressant effects exerts its blocking action on nicotinic receptors at parasympathetic ganglia and sympathetic nerve terminals and on muscarinic receptors at the effector cells in the dog heart.     

POTENTIATION OF THE NEGATIVE CHRONOTROPIC AND INOTROPIC EFFECTS OF ADENOSINE BY 2-PHENYLAMINOADENOSINE

1. Effects of 2-phenylaminoadenosine on SA nodal pacemaker activity and atrial contractility were studied, using eleven isolated, blood-perfused dog atrial preparations. The compounds were administered via the cannulated sinus node artery of the isolated atrium. 2. 2-Phenylaminoadenosine induced negative chronotropic and inotropic effects and was 100 times less potent than adenosine in this action. 3. The interaction between adenosine and 2-phenylaminoadenosine was studied. 2-Phenylaminoadenosine potentiated the effect of adenosine on atrial muscle, but not that of acetylcholine.     

Presynaptic inhibitory actions of lignocaine in canine isolated, blood-perfused atrial preparations

1. Cardiac effects of lignocaine on sinoatrial nodal pacemaker activity and atrial contractility were investigated in five canine isolated, blood-perfused right atria that were perfused with heparinized blood from support dogs. The effects of lignocaine on responses to intracardiac nerve stimulation and administered acetylcholine and noradrenaline were also examined. 2. Lignocaine was injected into the support dog intravenously or administered selectively to the sinus node artery of the isolated atrium. At doses that did not produce significant depressor action (0.3, 1.0 and 3.0 mg/kg), lignocaine produced no significant changes in heart rate. A large dose of 10 mg/kg lignocaine caused significant depressor effects and slight bradycardia. Direct administration of lignocaine (0.3, 1.0, 3.0, 10.0 and 30.0 mumol) into the sinus node artery of the isolated atrium consistently caused slight negative chronotropic and rather marked negative inotropic effects. 3. After treatment with a relatively large dose of lignocaine, electrical stimulation-induced negative chronotropic and inotropic responses were significantly inhibited in a dose-related manner, but positive chronotropic and inotropic responses were slightly depressed only at an extremely high dose of lignocaine (10.0 mumol). 4. Noradrenaline-induced positive chronotropic and inotropic effects were not modified by any doses of lignocaine used (0.3, 1.0, 3.0 and 10.0 mumol). Acetylcholine-induced negative chronotropic and inotropic effects were slightly, but significantly, depressed by 10 mumol lignocaine. 5. These results suggest that a relatively large dose of lignocaine has a dominant presynaptic inhibitory action, particularly on the parasympathetic component.     

Potentiating effects of 4-aminopyridine on responses to intramural vagal stimulation in the isolated dog atrium

The effects of 4-aminopyridine (4-AP) on the chronotropic and inotropic responses to intramural parasympathetic nerve stimulation and to injection of acetylcholine (ACh) into the sinus node artery were investigated after treatment with propranolol in the isolated, blood-perfused dog atrium. 4-AP (3-100 micrograms) induced positive chronotropic and inotropic effects and 300 micrograms of 4-AP induced biphasic, negative and positive effects. The negative responses to 4-AP were completely blocked by 10 micrograms of atropine. 4-AP (more than 30 micrograms) potentiated significantly the negative chronotropic and inotropic responses to intramural parasympathetic nerve stimulation at a frequency of 3-30 Hz. The potentiation of the responses to stimulation was greater at a low than at a high frequency of stimulation. Potentiation of the chronotropic effect was greater than that of the inotropic one. 4-AP in the doses used did not change the negative chronotropic and inotropic responses to injection of ACh into the sinus node artery. These results suggest that the potentiation by 4-AP of the cardiac responses to parasympathetic nerve stimulation was due to an increase in release of ACh from nerve terminals but not to an increase in responsiveness at the effector site.     

A Na+/Ca2+ exchanger inhibitor, KB-R7943, caused negative inotropic responses and negative followed by positive chronotropic responses in isolated, blood-perfused dog heart preparations

Effects of a Na+/Ca2+ exchanger inhibitor, KB-R7943 (2-[2-[4-(4-nitrobenzyloxy)phenyl]ethyl] isothiourea methanesulfonate), on the sinoatrial nodal pacemaker activity, atrial contractility and ventricular contractility were investigated in the isolated and blood-perfused right atrium and left ventricle of the dog. KB-R7943 (0.03- 3 micromol) induced negative inotropic effects and negative followed by positive chronotropic effects in the right atrium and negative inotropic effects in the left ventricle. Neither atropine nor hexamethonium affected the cardiac responses to KB-R7943. Propranolol attenuated the positive chronotropic response to KB-R7943 but imipramine did not. Tetrodotoxin potentiated the positive chronotropic response to KB-R7943 in 6 of 11 isolated atria. When NaCl infusion increased atrial contractile force and atrial rate, KB-R7943-induced negative inotropic and chronotropic responses were attenuated in a dose-dependent manner. CaCl2 infusion potentiated the negative chronotropic response to KB-R7943 but did not affect the inotropic response significantly. On the other hand, ouabain (17 nmol) attenuated the negative inotropic response, but not chronotropic response, to KB-R7943. These results suggest that KB-R7943-induced cardiac effects relate to the Na+ activity, probably mediated through the Na+/Ca2+ exchanger, and the Na+/Ca2+ exchanger modifies the pacemaker activity and myocardial contractility in the dog heart.     

Effects of tetrodotoxin and imipramine on the cardiac responses to nicotine in isolated, blood-perfused canine heart preparations.

The effects of nicotine on the sinus rate and atrial or left ventricular contractile force were investigated in the isolated, blood-perfused dog right atrium and left ventricle. Nicotine (3-300 nmol) in the right atrium induced dose-dependent negative followed by positive chronotropic and inotropic responses, whereas nicotine caused only a positive inotropic response in the left ventricle. The negative responses to nicotine were blocked by atropine, hexamethonium (C6), and tetrodotoxin (TTX). The positive effects of nicotine were abolished by propranolol and C6. TTX significantly inhibited the positive responses to nicotine by about 50% in the atrial preparation and totally suppressed them in the left ventricle. Imipramine inhibited the positive cardiac responses to nicotine and tyramine, but potentiated the responses to noradrenaline (NA) in atrial and ventricular preparations. These results suggest that (a) nicotine induces negative and positive cardiac effects mediated by parasympathetic ganglionic nicotinic receptors and presynaptic nicotinic receptors of the postganglionic sympathetic nerves, respectively, in the dog heart; (b) there are few parasympathetic ganglionic cells in the dog left ventricle; (c) the positive cardiac responses to nicotine are caused by both TTX-sensitive and TTX-insensitive NA release mechanisms; and (d) imipramine inhibits the positive cardiac responses to nicotine at the presynaptic nicotinic receptor sites of the postganglionic sympathetic nerves.     

Inhibition by glibenclamide of negative chronotropic and inotropic responses to pinacidil, acetylcholine, and adenosine in the isolated dog heart.

The blocking effects of glibenclamide on the chronotropic and inotropic responses to K+ channel openers pinacidil (ATP-sensitive) and acetylcholine (ACh) or adenosine (receptor-operated) were investigated in the isolated, blood-perfused canine atrium or ventricle. Glibenclamide (0.1-3 mumol) induced no significant cardiac effects. Cumulative administration of pinacidil (0.03-3 mumol) dose-dependently decreased sinus rate much less than the contractile force of the atrial and ventricular muscles. Glibenclamide similarly inhibited the negative chronotropic and inotropic responses to pinacidil in a dose-related manner. A high dose of glibenclamide (3 mumol) slightly but significantly attenuated the negative chronotropic and inotropic responses to ACh and adenosine but not to verapamil. These results demonstrate that glibenclamide inhibits the negative chronotropic and inotropic responses to the ATP-sensitive K+ channel opener pinacidil and the receptor-operated K+ channel openers ACh and adenosine but more selectively antagonizes the responses to pinacidil in the dog heart and suggest that in contrast to ACh and adenosine, an ATP-sensitive K+ channel opener has a greater effect on the ventricle than on the sinoatrial node.     

Acute desensitization of adenosine by adenosine infusion in isolated dog atria

We investigated the effects of a continuous infusion of adenosine on responses of sinus rate and developed tension to bolus injections of adenosine and acetylcholine in isolated, blood-perfused canine right atria. Each drug was directly injected into the sinus node artery of the isolated atrium. During adenosine infusions, the negative chronotropic and inotropic responses to bolus injections of adenosine were significantly inhibited in a dose-related manner, while the negative responses to administered acetylcholine were consistently potentiated. These results indicate that adenosine infusion has an acute desensitizing action on subsequent bolus adenosine, although the cholinergic action is enhanced by a continuous infusion of adenosine.     

Muscarinic suppression of the nicotinic action of acetylcholine on the isolated,blood-perfused atrium of the dog

1. The isolated canine right atrium perfused through the sinus node artery at a constant pressure of 100 mm Hg with blood led from a support dog was suspended in a bath filed with blood and kept at constant temperature. This preparation maintained its constant tension development and rate over 5 hrs in all 5 control experiments. 2. A relatively small amount of acetylcholine (ACh) induced a negative inotropic effect at 0.01 mug and a negative chronotropic effect at 0.1 mug. 3. A relatively large dose of ACh induced a biphasic inotropic response, i.e., initially a negative inotropic response and secondarily a long-lasting positive tropic response. These positive chronotropic and inotropic responses were abolished by propranolol, hexamethonium or tetrodotoxin. 6. In the papillary muscle and atrial muscle preparations isolated from one canine heart, ACh caused negative and positive inotropic effect in both paced papillary and atrial muscle preparations. In contrast to the results obtained with atria, the positive inotropic response of the papillary muscle preparation was completely blocked by treatment with propranolol or tetrodotoxin. 7. From these results, it is suggested that in the canine atrium muscarinic mechanisms predominate over nicotinic ones. This may well be due to the known inhibition of nicotinic responses by stimulation of muscarinic receptors.