Negative inotropic actions of nitric oxide require high doses in rat cardiac muscle

Initial experiments were designed to determine if vasoactive concentrations of nitric oxide (NO) alter contractility in rat heart. Contractile function was monitored in left atrial and papillary muscles (30 degrees C; paced at 0.5 Hz) during cumulative addition of 3-morpholino-sydnonimine-HCl(SIN-1), an agent that releases NO. At concentrations between 10(-7) and 10(-4) M (NO concentrations of approximately 10(-8)- 3 x 10(-7) M), SIN-1 did not affect contractility in either tissue. Similarly, 10(-4) M SIN-1 did not alter the positive inotropic responses to isoproterenol or increasing extracellular [Ca+2] ([Ca+2]o). To obtain higher concentrations of NO, additional studies were conducted using authentic NO. NO-saturated stock solutions and a corresponding control solvent were adjusted to pH 1.6 with HCl. Dose-dependent effects of NO were examined by adding aliquots of the stock solutions (or control solvent) to the bathing solution. At final concentrations of 1 x 10(-5)- 5 x 10(-4) M, NO produced transient, concentration-dependent decreases in contractility that were paralleled by reductions in buffer pH. Control solvent elicited similar reductions in pHo and transient decreases in contractility; however, the negative inotropic action elicited by the NO-containing solution was approximately 20% greater than that observed in control conditions. These data demonstrate that only high concentrations of NO depress contractility in isolated rat cardiac muscle, and suggest that this effect is mediated by both acidosis and a pHo-independent mechanism.