Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Mousa, W F
• Enoki, T
• Fukuda, K

Titel

Thiopental induces contraction of rat aortic smooth muscle through Ca(2+) release from the sarcoplasmic reticulum

Ist Teil von

• Anesthesia and analgesia, 2000-07, Vol.91 (1), p.62-67

Ort / Verlag

United States

Erscheinungsjahr

2000

Quelle

MEDLINE

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• Little is known about the mechanism of thiopental-induced contraction in vascular smooth muscle. This study aimed to clarify this question by conducting isometric tension experiments and (45)Ca(2+) flux measurements in endothelium-denuded rat aortic rings. Thiopental induced a concentration-dependent contraction under basal tension. This contraction was enhanced when rings were precontracted with phenylephrine in the presence of verapamil. In Ca(2+)-free solution, thiopental-induced contraction was reduced but not abolished with high concentrations. Ca(2+) store depletion with a maximum dose of caffeine in Ca(2+)-free solution further reduced the contraction by subsequent thiopental. Ca(2+) store depletion with thapsigargin completely abolished contraction by thiopental. (45)Ca(2+) influx experiment in the presence of verapamil showed that thiopental could not induce any Ca(2+) influx with or without phenylephrine prestimulation. The (45)Ca(2+) efflux experiment showed more evidence of thiopental-induced Ca(2+) release, which was abolished by thapsigargin. In conclusion, thiopental induces contraction in rat aortic smooth muscle by releasing Ca(2+) from the sarcoplasmic reticulum without Ca(2+) influx. This is the first study providing evidence that thiopental-induced vascular contraction is caused by Ca(2+) release from the sarcoplasmic reticulum of the smooth muscle.