Effects of diltiazem on skinned skeletal muscle fibers of the African clawed toad.

To examine the effects of diltiazem and its l-cis isomer (which possesses only a weak Ca++-antagonistic action) on the contractile system and the sarcoplasmic reticulum of skeletal muscle, we used skinned fibers isolated from iliofibularis muscle of the African clawed toad, Xenopus laevis. Diltiazem showed the following effects: an increase in the Ca++ sensitivity of the contractile system, a decrease in the maximal tension developed in a saturating concentration of Ca++, an inhibition of Ca++ uptake by the sarcoplasmic reticulum, an inhibition of Ca++ release from the sarcoplasmic reticulum by caffeine, and an increase in the Ca++ permeability of the sarcoplasmic reticulum membrane. The effects of the l-cis isomer were similar to those of diltiazem, and the potencies of the two substances were nearly equal, except with respect to the effect on the Ca++ release induced by caffeine: the l-cis isomer potentiated this type of Ca++ release. Diltiazem's effects on amphibian skinned skeletal muscle fibers may not be related qualitatively or quantitatively to the Ca++-antagonistic actions of the drug on mammalian cardiac and smooth muscles. The pharmacological spectrum of diltiazem on skinned skeletal muscle fibers is similar to that of some local anesthetics.