Muscle contractures and adenosine triphosphate depletion in porcine malignant hyperthermia

This study compares several methods for diagnosing susceptibility to malignant hyperthermia, using two groups of Poland China swine narrowly defined as genetically susceptible or normal (five pigs each) depending respectively on their response to halothane or to halothane and succinylcholine. Vastus medialis muscle biopsies were excised under thiopental-N2O-O2 anesthesia and used for examination of (1) contracture responses to halothane, (2) contracture responses to caffeine and halothane-caffeine, and (3) adenosine triphosphate (ATP) depletion with and without halothane. All studies were performed in organ baths at 37 C. Halothane alone produced contractures in two susceptible and one normal preparation; caffeine always produced a contracture at lower concentrations in susceptible muscle; caffeine-halothane contractures in susceptible muscle occurred at lower mean caffeine concentrations, but there was some overlap of individual values; mean ATP depletion was greater in susceptible muscle, but with considerable overlap. Comparisons with the findings of others were hampered by use of absolute rather than comparative values for tension, e.g., grams, rather than grams per cross-sectional area or fraction of peak tension. Examination of the complete dose-response curve provided the best comparative information and caffeine was the consistent predictor of susceptibility.