Abstract
The roles of Ca2+ mobilization in development of tension induced by acetylcholine (ACh, 0.1–100 µM) in swine tracheal smooth muscle strips were studied. Under control conditions, ACh induced a transient increase in free cytosolic calcium concentration ([Ca2+]i) that declined to a steady-state level. The peak increase in [Ca2+]i correlated with the magnitude of tension at each [ACh] after a single exposure to ACh, while the steady-state [Ca2+]i did not. Removal of extracellular Ca2+ had little effect on peak [Ca2+]i but greatly reduced steady-state increases in [Ca2+]i and tension. Verapamil inhibited steady-state [Ca2+]i only at [ACh]<1 µM. After depletion of internal Ca2+ stores by 10 min exposure to ACh in Ca2+-free solution and then washout of ACh for 5 min in Ca2+-free solution, simultaneous re-exposure to ACh in the presence of 2.5 mM Ca2+ increased [Ca2+]i to the control steady-state level without overshoot. The tension attained was the same as control for each [ACh] used. Continuous exposure to successively increasing [ACh] (0.1–100 µM) also reduced the overshoot of [Ca2+]i at 10 and 100 µM ACh, yet tension reached control levels at each [ACh] used. We conclude that the steady-state increase in [Ca2+]i is necessary for tension maintenance and is dependent on Ca2+ influx through voltage-gated calcium channels at 0.1 µM ACh and through a verapamil-insensitive pathway at 10 and 100 µM. The initial transient increase in calcium arises from intracellular stores and is correlated with the magnitude of tension only in muscles that have completely recovered from previous exposure to agonists.
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Shieh, CC., Petrini, M.F., Dwyer, T.M. et al. Calcium mobilization and muscle contraction induced by acetylcholine in swine trachealis. J Biomed Sci 2, 272–282 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02253388
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02253388