Altered responses to calcium and trifluoperazine in K+-depolarized duodenum from alloxan diabetic rats

Contractile responses to calcium were examined in the K+-depolarized duodenum from normal and alloxan-diabetic rats. In addition, verapamil and trifluoperazine which are well-known calcium channel blocker and calmodulin inhibitor respectively were used as tools in order to approach to the mechanism of changes resulting from diabetes. Decreased contractile responses to calcium were observed in the alloxan diabetic rat duodenum compared to normals. Trifluoperazine-induced non-competitive inhibition was significantly affected depending on diabetes, while verapamil-induced competitive inhibition was not changed. The non-competitive inhibition affinity constant for trifluoperazine was significantly elevated in the K+-depolarized duodenum from alloxan-diabetic rats. On the basis of findings obtained in this study, possible mechanism of the effect of experimental diabetes on the calcium-induced contraction is discussed.