Abstract
Many experiments have showed that the sodium and potassium ion transporting system and the Na, $^+K^+$-ATPase activity of membrane fragments are inhibited by digitalis glycosides and that the pump may be associated with the pharmacological receptor for the drugs. The aim of our investigation is to elucidate the ouabain binding sites occupation in heart following infusion of ouabain to intact animals by the $^3H$-ouabain binding assay. Lethal dose and 26 percent of lethal dose of ouabain were infused to intact rabbit through ear vein. Microsomal fraction was fractionated from ouabain treated rabbit heart. $^3H$-ouabain binding to these fraction in vitro was studied by the Schwartz's method. $^3H$-ouabain binding to heart microsomal fraction was also studied following infusion of ginseng ethanol extract and caffeine to rabbits respectively. 1) The infusion of lethal dose ouabain (113$\mu\textrm{g}$/kg) inhibited the specific $^3H$-ouabain binding to rabbit heart microsomal fraction to the level of 60% (p<0.01) of control group and the infusion of 26% of lethal dose of ouabain led to the level of 79% (p<0.01) of the control group. 2) Time course of binding of 0.4$\mu{M}$ $^3H$-ouabain to microsomal fraction from rabbit heart following infusion of lethal and 26% of lethal dose of ouabain showed dose dependence at various incubation time. 3) Compared with control, only slight change of $K_d$ and $B_{max}$ was detected in in vitro $^3H$-ouabain binding after infusion of ginseng ethanol extract (300mg/kg) to rabbit. 4) In caffeine infusion group, $^3H$-ouabain binding yielded nearly the same results as control group.
