Action Potential Duration-Stabilizing Action of Taurine in Guinea Pig Ventricular Myocytes

[摘要] References(17)Cited-By(1)To examine taurine actions on the rate of repolarization of action potentials (AP), L-type Ca2+ (Ica), late outward K+ (IK) and the inward rectifier currents as affected by the external Ca2+ concentrations ([Ca2+]o), whole-cell voltage-clamp and current-clamp experiments were conducted in guinea pig ventricular myocytes. At a high (3.6 mM) [Ca2+]o, 10 mM taurine suppressed both Ica and IK, shortened AP duration and decelerated the rate (−dV/dt) of terminal repolarization of AP. In contrast, at a low (0.9 mM) [Ca2+]o, taurine intensified both Ica and IK, lengthened AP duration and accelerated −dV/dt. However, at either [Ca2+]o, the resting membrane potential was slightly hyperpolarized, and the inward rectifier current examined by the ramp-pulse protocol remained unaffected by taurine. Taurine is suggested to maintain a stable AP duration by altering the inward Ca2+ and IK in the opposite directions, depending on [Ca2+]o. The relevance of the stabilizing action of taurine on the AP duration to its reported antiarrhythmic efficacies is discussed.

[学科分类] 药理学

[关键词] Taurine;Action potential;Ca2+ channel;K+ channel;Antiarrhythmic action