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This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: 90/1/123    most recent expphysiol.2004.027888v1 Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Zang, W. J. Articles by Sun, Q. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Zang, W. J. Articles by Sun, Q. Related Collections Heart/Cardiac Muscle

¹ Division of Cardiovascular Physiology and Pharmacology, School of Medicine² Key Laboratory of Environment and Genes Related to Diseases (Xi'an Jiaotong University), Ministry of Education³ School of Life Science and Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710061, China

The direct negative effects of acetylcholine (ACh) on guinea-pig atria and ventricles were investigated using standard microelectrodes, a force transducer and a video edge-detection system. It was found that: (1) ACh (at 0.001–100 µM) decreased the force of contraction and shortened the action potential duration (APD) in both atria and ventricles in a concentration-dependent manner, and that the atria were more sensitive to ACh than the ventricles; and (2) the direct negative inotropic effect of ACh (1 µM) on an isolated cardiac cell was similar to that on the isolated myocardium. But this effect was not present in all isolated ventricular cells, while all the atrial cells responded to ACh. In conclusion, ACh had direct inhibitory effects on both atrial and ventricular tissue and myocytes, although the effects were greater in atria than in ventricles; and the negative inotropic effect of ACh was closely related to the shortening of the APD.

(Received 24 April 2004; accepted after revision 1 October 2004; first published online 4 October 2004)
Corresponding author W. J. Zaing: School of Medicine, Department of Pharmacology, Division of Cardiovascular Physiology and Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Ki'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710061, China. Email: zwj{at}mail.xjtu.edu.cn

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