The regulation of respiration of guinea pig taenia coli in high-K medium: the role of nicotinamide-adenine dinucleotide, adenosine diphosphate and Ca++.

In an attempt to elucidate the regulation mechanism of respiration in the smooth muscle cell, we investigated the roles of nicotinamide-adenine dinucleotide (NAD), adenosine diphosphate (ADP) and Ca++ in the muscle respiration using the tissues and subcellular fractions from guinea pig taenia coli. The tension in the strips of taenia coli increased with a concomitant increase in O2 consumption in high-K medium (40 mM K) containing 2.5 mM Ca. 10(-3) M amytal and 10(-5)M ouabain decreased the high-K induced tension and O2 consumption of the muscle. 10(-4)M 2,4-dinitrophenol (DNP) relieved the decreased respiration induced by ouabain, but not that with amytal. From these data it is suggested that NADH-linked respiration plays an important role in the respiration of the muscle. Ca++ in concentrations ranging from 0.5 to 2.5 mM in the high-K medium resulted in an increase in tension and in O2 concumption progressively. In spectrophotometric observations of subcellular fractions of the taenia coli, ADP increased in absorbance change at 340 m mu. Such occurred in mitochondrial fractions and was initiated by the addition of NADH. Therefore it is deduced that the increase in ADP level of the cytoplasm is primarily due to a contraction triggered by Ca++ thus stimulating respiration. On the other hand, at 0.1 mM of Ca++ concentration, the muscle strip increased O2 consumption without tension development in high-K medium. In the spectrophotometric observations, Ca++ and Sr++ increased the absorbance change in the homogenate and in the mitochondrial fraction. Hence, it seems that one part of the Ca++ entering into the smooth muscle treated with the high-K increased O2 consumption in mitochondia independent of an increase in muscle tension. From these results it is concluded that NADH-linked respiration plays an important role in the smooth muscle respiration in high-K medium and that ADP and Ca++ also play a role in regulating respiration.