Myocardial depressant factor and rat heart myoblasts in tissue culture

Beating rat heart myoblasts in tissue culture are suitable for the demonstration of the effect of sera from patients with cardiogenic shock upon the contractility of heart muscle. Shock serum either promptly stops beating or causes discoordinated movements of the cultivated myoblasts (fibrillation). This effect of the shock serum is concentration-dependent. Hydrocortisone before and/or after treatment of the cultivated cells does not influence the effect of the shock serum. Calcium ions shorten the period of standstill of the muscle cells after washout of the shock serum.