Interaction of cyclic AMP and Ca2+ in the control of electrical coupling in heart fibers

The influence of intracellular injection of cAMP on the electrical coupling of canine Purkinje cells was investigated. It was found that the nucleotide enhanced reversibly the cell-to-cell communication through an increase in junctional conductance. Dibutyryl cAMP (5 X 10(-4) M) plus theophylline (0.4 mM) decreased appreciably the intracellular longitudinal resistance (ri). The interactions of cAMP and Ca on the electrical coupling were also investigated. The nucleotide and Ca have opposite effects on the electrical coupling. In the presence of high [Ca2+]o solutions (6 mM), the intracellular injection of cAMP causes a transient increase in the coupling coefficient followed by an appreciable decrease in cell-to-cell coupling. This reduction in intracellular communication was reversed by injecting EGTA into the same cell. The results of this study support the view that cAMP is a modulator of junctional conductance in cardiac muscle and that the compound interacts with Ca in the control of intracellular communication.