Physostigmine-induced contractures in frog skeletal muscle

Summary Physostigmine in 15 mM concentration at pH 8.4 produces reversible contractures of up to 0.3 P₀ tension output in frog's whole toe muscle or in 7–10 fiber bundles of these muscles. At pH 7.2, the 15 mM physostigmine contracture output is only about 0.10 P₀. The 15 mM, pH 8.4 contractures are essentially unaffected by lack of external Ca²⁺, complete depolarization of the fibers, detubulation by glycerol treatment, and 0°C ambient temperature. These results and other evidence indicate that physostigmine produces contracture by directly releasing activator Ca²⁺ from the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR). Pretreatment of muscles with 4 mM procaine reduces physostigmine's capacity to produce contracture, evidently by means of a competitive inhibition at SR sites. The above results indicate similarities between physostigmine and caffeine contractures. But the physostigmine action differs in that it is reversible, and, especially, it lacks the ability, strongly characteristic of caffeine, to sensitize a muscle to produce a rapid cooling contracture. The internal action of physostigmine requires that it be permeant, and since it is a weak base (pK_a=8.2), this property is provided by its uncharged base. But, once internal, where the pH =6.8, most of the drug will be protonated and it may act on the SR in this form, in contrast with caffeine which, since its pK_a is about 1.0, acts on the SR as uncharged base.