• The Korean Journal of Pharmacology
• /
• v.16 no.1 s.26
• /
• pp.25-34
• /
• 1980

The in vitro guinea pig ureter responded to 5 sec trains of electrical stimuli with two contractions; the first an 'on response' (ON) occurred with $0.1{\sim}0.3$ sec after the onset o the stimulus train, the second an 'off response'(OFF) occurred $0.2{\sim}1.0$ sec after the termination of the stimulus train. Relaxation occurred between the two responses during a time when the stimulus was still being delivered. Longer duration and/or higher frequencies of stimuli within the train were required to elicit the OFF than the ON. Decreasing temperature from $37^{\circ}$ to $22^{\circ}$ decreased ON amplitude and increased OFF amplitude. $Ca^{++}$-free solution, 2 mM EDTA, 1 mM $Mn^{++}$ or $1{\mu}M$ verapamil rapidly abolished ON. OFF persisted when ON had disappeared by repeated stimulation at 0.12 train per sec. Conversely, caffeine, $50{\mu}M$ and theophylline, $10{\mu}M$ abolished OFF with only slight reduction of ON, and sodium nitroprusside decreased preferentially ON amplitude rather than OFF. Relaxation between ON and OFF was incomplete in low $Na^+$ solution. ON and OFF were not affected by the neural blockers tetrodotoxin, atropine or phentolamine, also pyrilamine and methysergide, and relaxation between ON and OFF was $Na^+$ dependent. Furthermore, ON depends on free $Ca^{++}$ and OFF is more dependent on bound or stored $Ca^{++}$.