Sources of calcium for contraction of distal circular muscle or taenia coli in the rabbit.

Studies were performed on proximal taenia coli and distal circular muscle from the rabbit to determine if the source of Ca2+ required for bethanechol stimulation of contraction was similar after permeabilizing the tissues with saponin. The EC50 for Ca2+ stimulation of contraction was pCa 6.1 +/- 0.1 for both tissues. The peak response occurred at pCa 4.5. The addition of 1 microM calmodulin did not alter the Ca2+ EC50 or the peak response. Caffeine (20 mM) stimulated contraction of both taenia coli and distal circular muscle. The caffeine-stimulated contractile response was threefold greater in the taenia than in the distal circular muscle (P less than 0.05). Perfusion of thin strips of colonic muscle with buffer, containing 10(-7) M Ca2+, reduced the amplitude of bethanechol-stimulated contraction. The perfusion time to reduce the contraction by 50% was greater in the proximal muscle (2.4 +/- 0.1 min) than in the distal muscle (1.1 +/- 0.5 min) (P less than 0.001). These data suggest that 1) the intracellular Ca2+ concentration necessary for contraction is similar in the proximal and distal colon and 2) the intracellular Ca2+ stores appear to be greater in proximal taenia coli compared with distal circular muscle.