In vitro responses of cat skeletal muscle to halothane and caffeine

Strips of soleus (100% type I) and gracilis (90% type II) muscle were obtained from anesthetized cats and mounted in organ baths filled with aerated Krebs-Ringer solution (37 degrees C). The contractile patterns in response to electrical stimulation (0.1 Hz, 25 V, 5 ms), caffeine, halothane, and caffeine in the presence of halothane were examined in the two fiber types. The ability of 25 microM dantrolene to alter the contractile patterns was also evaluated. In vitro contractile properties in response to electrical stimulation were similar to properties observed in situ, except that twitch tension in soleus muscle was significantly less in vitro than in situ. In the presence of halothane, type I soleus muscle developed a rapid contracture. The contracture was blocked by pretreatment with dantrolene and was reversed by addition of dantrolene at the peak of the response. Halothane-induced contractures were not observed at any time in type II gracilis. Type I soleus was also significantly more sensitive both to caffeine alone and to caffeine in the presence of halothane than was type II gracilis. In both fiber types, halothane increased the sensitivity of the muscles to caffeine. Dantrolene attenuated caffeine-induced contractures in both fiber types, but the attenuating effect was less in the presence of halothane. The findings of a halothane-induced contracture in the cat soleus and differential sensitivities of the two muscle fiber types to caffeine indicate that further studies in these two muscles may be useful for delineating the mechanisms inducing contracture in muscle from individuals susceptible to malignant hyperthermia.