Concanavalin A increases spontaneous beat rate of embryonic chick heart cell aggregates.
The plant lectin concanavalin A (Con A), at concentrations of 5-200 micrograms/ml, induced a twofold to fivefold increase in spontaneous beat rate of cultured aggregates of ventricular cells from seven-day chick embryos. This response was time, dose, and temperature dependent and was accompanied by a decrease in transmembrane potential. It could be blocked or reversed by alpha-methyl-D-mannoside but was not reversed by dilution alone. Binding of the lectin occurred in the cold, but a temperature-dependent process was also necessary to produce the response. Divalent (succinyl) Con A did not cause a beat rate increase. Whole heart aggregates responded similarly but less intensely than ventricular aggregates. Atrial aggregates, and whole heart aggregates treated with 5 microgram/ml of Con A, produced a biphasic chronotropic response, first decreasing then increasing their beat rates. These results suggest that saccharide-bearing macromolecules on the heart cell surface play a role in regulating spontaneous beat rate.
D000200:Action Potentials; D000818:Animals; D002449:Cell Aggregation; D002642:Chick Embryo; D003208:Concanavalin A / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006321:Heart / Q000502:physiology; D006325:Heart Atria / Q000166:cytology; D006352:Heart Ventricles / Q000166:cytology; D007700:Kinetics; D008766:Methylmannosides / Q000494:pharmacology; D009200:Myocardial Contraction; D013268:Stimulation, Chemical; D013696:Temperature
D008766:Methylmannosides; D003208:Concanavalin A; C008466:methylmannoside; C019558:succinylconcanavalin A