PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - E. E. DANIEL
AU  - SYLVIA FAIR
AU  - A. M. KIDWAI
AU  - I. POLACEK
TI  - ZINC AND SMOOTH MUSCLE CONTRACTILITY I. STUDY OF THE MECHANISMS OF ZINC-INDUCED CONTRACTILITY CHANGES IN RAT UTERI
DP  - 1971 Aug 01
TA  - Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics
PG  - 282--289
VI  - 178
IP  - 2
4099  - http://jpet.aspetjournals.org/content/178/2/282.short
4100  - http://jpet.aspetjournals.org/content/178/2/282.full
SO  - J Pharmacol Exp Ther1971 Aug 01; 178
AB  - Zinc ion in concentrations of 10-6 through 10-4 M potentiated contractile responses of rat uteri to submaximal doses of acetylcholine; 10-8; M zinc ion inhibited maximal and submaximal responses. Zinc's potentiation of contractile responses was not related to energy supply (adenosine triphosphate and adenosine diphosphate levels unchanged), to levels of 3', 5'-cyclic adenosine monophosphate (unchanged), to levels of Ca, Na or K in the tissues, to improved conduction of electrical activity or to zinc levels in the tissue. Altered excitation-contraction coupling involving prolonged binding of zinc at superficial sites was the postulated explanation. Inhibition of contractile activity by zinc ion was not related to changes of any of the following substances in the tissue: adenosine triphosphate, adenosine diphosphate, cyclic-adenosine monophosphate, Na, K or Ca. It may have been related to inhibited conduction of action potentials and contractility after zinc uptake and prolonged binding in myometrial cells. © 1971 by The Williams & Wilkins Co.