Calcium ionophore enhances the electron spin resonance signal from isolated skeletal muscle

Electron spin resonance studies of the free radical signal from isolated skeletal muscle during experimental damage have shown that elevation of muscle intracellular calcium with the calcium ionophore A23187 induced an average 61% increase in the amplitude of the signal of g value 2.0047 compared to paired, untreated control muscles, accompanied by a large efflux of intracellular creatine kinase to the external medium. Inhibitors of the calcium-induced loss of cell viability leading to enzyme efflux, i.e., chlorpromazine, phenidone and nordihydroguaiaretic acid had variable effects on the signal, suggesting that the free radical signal obtained from skeletal muscle by electron spin resonance techniques is stimulated by intracellular calcium overload, but is not directly related to the mechanisms by which calcium overload leads to a loss of cell viability leading to intracellular enzyme efflux.