title: Force-relaxant actions of dimethyl sulfoxide on guinea-pig and rabbit papillary muscles.
abstract: Recent voltage-clamp analysis of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO: 0.1-10% v/v) action on membrane currents in guinea-pig ventricular myocytes (strong inhibition of delayed-rectifier K+ current, inhibition of Na+ pump current, little effect on L-type Ca2+ current) suggested that the solvent would have a strong positive inotropic effect on guinea-pig papillary muscles. In muscles driven at 1 Hz, the major effects of 30 min superfusion with hyperosmotic 10% DMSO were: (1) a 33% lengthening of the action potential duration; (2) a 23% depression of developed tension; and (3) a pronounced positive inotropy on washout of the solvent. Osmotic change in cell volume was a possible reason for these effects; however, hyperosmotic sucrose solution that shrunk myocyte volume by a DMSO-like 12% failed to elicit the DMSO response. It was postulated that DMSO has both stimulatory and inhibitory actions: during treatment the stimulatory component (Ca2+ accumulation due to action potential lengthening and Na+ pump inhibition) is masked by a concomitant inhibition of Ca(2+)-myofilament interaction; removal of the solvent reveals the Ca2+ overload. In support of this interpretation. (1) DMSO depressed developed tension by up to 85% when the stimulatory influence was attenuated by eliminating action potential lengthening (rabbit papillary muscles), relieving pump inhibition (elevated K+), or preloading Ca2+ (low-K+ or low-Na+ superfusate), and (2) DMSO relaxed Na(+)-free contractures, and nearly abolished caffeine-induced contractures, in quiescent guinea-pig muscles. These data suggest that DMSO has a reversible, powerful inhibitory action on the myofilament force-generating machinery.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ogura
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kasamaki
authors.forename: T F
authors.initials: TF
authors.lastname: McDonald
mesh_terms: D000200:Action Potentials / Q000187:drug effects; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D002110:Caffeine / Q000494:pharmacology; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism*; D048429:Cell Size / Q000187:drug effects; D003593:Cytoplasm / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D004121:Dimethyl Sulfoxide / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D006168:Guinea Pigs; D008297:Male; D009126:Muscle Relaxation / Q000187:drug effects*; D010210:Papillary Muscles / Q000187:drug effects*; D011817:Rabbits; D012964:Sodium / Q000502:physiology; D012997:Solvents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D013045:Species Specificity
chemical_list: D012997:Solvents; D002110:Caffeine; D012964:Sodium; D002118:Calcium; D004121:Dimethyl Sulfoxide