Potassium and the recovery of splenic capsular smooth muscle after cold storage

Cat spleen capsular smooth muscle, depleted of potassium and enriched with sodium by cold storage in a potassium free medium, relaxed and underwent transient reduction in responsiveness to noradrenaline when potassium was introduced into the bathing medium. Both these effects could be blocked by ouabain, lithium substitution for sodium or low ambient temperature, suggesting possible involvement of the sodium pump. In the continued presence of potassium, relaxation was maintained but sensitivity to noradrenaline increased, possibly due to restoration of normal intracellular sodium and potassium concentrations.