[Effect of mechanical oscillations in physiological solution on the contractile activity of the snail heart]

The effect of perfusate on the contractile activity of an isolated internally perfused heart of Helix pomatia was studied. The changes in heart activity induced by the switching of the perfusate stream were more pronounced in a potassium-free solution when the Na+, K(+)-pump was inactivated. It was found that the decrease in the amplitude of contractions of snail heart by acetylcholine (5.10(-9) M) depends on the treatment of perfusate (Ringer solution) by mechanical vibrations (4, 10, 20, and 50 Hz; 90 dB). In the solution treated with 4 Hz mechanical vibrations, the inhibiting effect of acetylcholine decreased. A similar effect was observed after inactivating the Na+, K(+)-pump by ouabain (10(-4) M). Upon treating the solution by 10, 20, and 50 Hz mechanical vibrations, these changes were not observed. Based on the data, it is suggested that the water medium of the cell can serve as a target through which mechanical vibration can affect the cascade of cell metabolic processes.