Effects of doxorubicinol on excitation--contraction coupling in guinea pig ventricular myocytes

The cardiotoxicity of the anticancer drug doxorubicin may be related to its main metabolite doxorubicinol. In this study, the acute effects of doxorubicinol on excitation-contraction coupling in isolated guinea pig ventricular myocytes were investigated and compared with doxorubicin using the whole-cell patch-clamp-, fura-2 fluorescence- and cell-edge tracking techniques. Both drugs were applied intracellularly by diffusion from the patch electrode for 15--20 min. Doxorubicin (100 microM) prolonged the action potential duration (APD) by 31% and enhanced cell shortening by 26%. Contrary to doxorubicin, doxorubicinol (10 microM) shortened APD by 25% and decreased cell shortening by 31%. APD shortening by doxorubicinol was due to an increase of the delayed rectifier K(+) current. Neither the inward rectifier K(+) current nor the L-type Ca(2+) current was influenced by doxorubicinol. The decline in cell shortening induced by doxorubicinol was not exclusively due to APD shortening because doxorubicinol reduced the peak Ca(2+) transient by 23% in cells clamped with an action potential of constant duration. Despite opposite effects on APD and contractility, both doxorubicin and doxorubicinol produced a considerable delay in the activation and inactivation of contraction and Ca(2+) transient, compatible with an impaired function of the sarcoplasmic reticulum. It is suggested that doxorubicinol-induced APD shortening may amplify the detrimental effects of both doxorubicin and doxorubicinol on sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca(2+) load and hence on contractile function. The accumulation of doxorubicinol in the cardiac myocytes may play an important role in the time-dependent development of doxorubicin-induced ventricular dysfunction.