Effects of Hypoxia and Reoxygenation on Steady-state and Potentiated Contractions in Papillary Muscle of Guinea Pigs.

Abstract

We studied the effects of hypoxia and reoxygenation on steady-state contractions and potentiated contractions of papillary muscles of guinea pigs. Isometric tension was measured while 120 min periods of hypoxia and reoxygenation were repeated twice. Reoxygenation after the first period of hypoxia induced a gradual recovery in steady-state contractions and a rapid recovery in potentiated contractions from the first hypoxia-induced contractile depression. After the second period of hypoxia, steady-state and potentiated contractions decreased progressively. During the second period of reoxygenation, the recovery of steady-state and potentiated contractions was very poor and the marked elevation of diastolic tension did not decrease. There were no good correlations between hypoxic depression just before reoxygenation and the recovery of both potentiated contraction and steady-state contraction at 120 min of reoxygenation. The recovery from the hypoxia-induced depression was poor in the preparations with marked elevation in diastolic tension. From these findings, we conclude that hypoxia-induced depression is progressively worsened by an additional episode of hypoxia and that diastolic tension is one of the determinants of the low contractile level achieved by steady-state and potentiated contractions in the severely hypoxic state. The degree of hypoxia-induced depression does not determine redevelopment of force with reoxygenation.