Summary
The action of papaverine on electrical and mechanical activity was investigated in ventricular and atrial heart muscle fibres from guinea-pigs and cats.
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1.
Papaverine (10−5 M–5×10−5M) had positive, negative or no inotropic effects in ventricular preparations; positive inotropic effects were not observed after pretreatment of the animals with reserpine. In atrial preparations, papaverine (2×10−5M) had a positive inotropic effect that was independent of endogenously stored catecholamines.
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2.
The effects of isoprenaline and dibutyryl cyclic AMP were potentiated by papaverine (10−5 M–2×10−5M).
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3.
The action potential duration was always prolonged by papaverine in ventricular as well as in atrial preparations.
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4.
In the presence of papaverine, ventricular preparations regularly developed spontaneous electrical and mechanical activity in response to moderate concentrations of isoprenaline or dibutyryl cyclic AMP.
It is concluded that the effects of inhibition of phosphodiesterase activity in the heart may be minimal in the absence of an adrenergic stimulus. If, however, catecholamines are present, great increases in force of contraction can occur. The potentiation by papaverine of the effects of catecholamines and the generation of spontaneous activity in papillary muscles may be tentatively explained by the effects of papaverine on 1) phosphodiesterase activity and 2) action potential duration.
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Nawrath, H., Meinertz, T. Electrical and mechanical activity of mammalian heart muscle fibres treated with papaverine. Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's Arch. Pharmacol. 299, 253–258 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00500317
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00500317