• The Korean Journal of Physiology
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.203-216
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• 1995

The effects of ${\alpha}_1-adrenergic$ receptor stimulation on membrane potential, intracellular $Na^+$ activity, and twitch force were investigated in ventricular muscles from guinea-pig hearts. Action potentials, intracellular $Na^+$ activity, and twitch force of ventricular papillary muscles were measured simultaneously under various experimental conditions. Stimulation of the ${\alpha}_1-adrenergic$ receptor by phenylephrine produced variable changes in action potential duration, a slight hyperpolarization of the diastolic membrane potential, a decrease in intracellular $Na^+$ activity, and a biphasic inotropic response in which a transient negative inotropic response was followed by a sustained positive inotropic response. These changes were blocked by prazosin, an antagonist of the ${\alpha}_1-adrenergic$ receptor, but not by atenolol, an antagonist of the ${\beta}-adrenergic$ receptor. This indicates that the changes in membrane potential, intracellular $Na^+$ activity, and twitch force are mediated by stimulation of the ${\alpha}_1-adrenergic$ receptor, but not by stimulation of ${\beta}-adrenergic$ receptor. The decrease in intracellular $Na^+$ activity was not observed in quiescent muscles, depending on the rate of the action pontentials in beating muscles. The intracellular $Na^+$ activity decrease was substantially inhibited by tetrodotoxin. However, the decrease in intracellular $Na^+$ activity was not affected by an inhibition of the $Na^+-K^+$ pump. Therefore, the decrease in intracellular $Na^+$ activity mediated by the ${\alpha}_1-adrenergic$ receptor appears to be due to a reduction of $Na^+$ influx during the action potential, perhaps through tetrodotoxin sensitive $Na^+$ channels. Our study also revealed that the decrease in intracellular $Na^+$ activity might be related to the transient negative inotropic response. The intracellular $Na^+$ activity decrease could lower intracellular $Ca^{2+}$ through the $Na^+-Ca^{2+}$ exchanger and thereby produce a decline in twitch force.

• Proceedings of the Korean Biophysical Society Conference
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• 1997.07a
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• pp.28-28
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• 1997

Stimulation of $\alpha$$_1$-adrenergic receptor ($\alpha$$_1$-AR) by phenylephrine produced a decrease in intracellular N $a^{＋}$ activity ( $a_{Na}$ $^{i}$ ) in multicellular preparations of cardiac tissues. The role of protein kinase C (PKC) in $\alpha$$_1$-adrenergic regulation of $a_{Na}$ $^{i}$ was studied in single ventricular myocyte isolated from guinea pig hearts. $a_{Na}$ $^{i}$ and membrane potential were measured with N $a^{+}$ indicator, sodium-binding benzofuran isophthalate tetraacetoxy methyl ester (SBFI/AM) and microelectrodes respectively when ventricular myocyte was stimulated at 0.3 Hz.(omitted)d)