Contraction independent of extracellular Ca by sodium vanadate in guinea-pig vas deferens

The effects of Ca removal and Ca antagonists on sodium vanadate-induced contractions of the guinea-pig vas deferens were studied. Sodium vanadate-induced tension development could be observed even 120 minutes after the removal of Ca, whereas K-contracture disappeared within 20 minutes. Spontaneous contractions induced by sodium vanadate were abolished by the removal of Ca. Verapamil and nifedipine did not show any effect on sodium vanadate-induced contraction, contrastingly, they blocked spontaneous contractions initiated by sodium vanadate. The effects of sodium vanadate on Ca contracture of depolarized preparations were also studied. Though the drug potentiated phasic contraction, it did not potentiate tonic component of Ca contracture. It was demonstrated that sodium vanadate induced tension development independently of extracellular Ca, presumably by releasing intracellularly bound Ca.