Potassium and the Recovery of Arterial Smooth Muscle after Cold Storage

Abstract

The influence of K on the performance of vascular smooth muscle was studied by observing the mechanical performance of the muscle under conditions in which the magnitudes of [K_i] and of the [K_i]:[K_o] ratio varied in opposite directions. During prolonged storage at 4°C the artery strips lost K and their ability to respond to stimuli. Subsequently they were transferred to recovery solutions of various [K_o] at 38°C. The initial rate of K_i reaccumulation and steady state [K_i] were greater in solutions of higher [K_o]. Conversely for any time during recovery, the greater [K_o], the smaller the [K_i]:[K_o] ratio. When the strip was placed in the warm recovery solution it first contracted and then relaxed. The initial contraction was not relatable to [K_o] of the recovery solution but the subsequent relaxation was greater in rate and magnitude as [K_o] was greater. As the muscles recovered further they went into tonic contracture. As the [K_o] in the recovery solutions was greater these contractures occurred after shorter recovery times, and attained greater amplitude at a faster rate. Solution-switching experiments indicated a dependence of responses to electrical shocks on both the [K_i]:[K_o] ratio and [K_i]. Conclusions drawn were: (a) increased [K_i] increases contractility, (b) increased [K_i] increases the rate of relaxation, (c) excitability is decreased by too high or low a [K_i]: [K_o] ratio, and (d) the extent of tonic shortening depends on the [K_i]:[K_o] ratio.