The effect of theophylline on amine-induced cardiac cyclic AMP and cardiac contractile force

Abstract

In the isolated electrically driven rat atria, theophylline (5 × 10−4 M) produced a small but significant increase in cyclic AMP content which was prevented by reserpine pretreatment. Theophylline was also found to exert a direct contractile effect, unrelated to cyclic AMP, in atria obtained from reserpine-pretreated animals. The norepinephrine inotropic response was attenuated after 3 min, enhanced after 15 min, and abolished after 60 min of exposure to theophylline (5 × 10−4 M). The maximum phenylephrine inotropic response was not significantly changed after 15 min of exposure to theophylline; however, there was a slight shift to the left of the phenylephrine dose–response curve. The effect of theophylline on cyclic AMP appeared to be additive with the norepinephrine and phenylephrine responses. The effect of theophylline on amine-induced cardiac cyclic AMP and contractile force showed no correlation between the contractile and the cyclic AMP effects at the different times tested. It is concluded that the inotropic effects of theophylline in rat atria are not mediated through cyclic AMP; instead, the methylxanthines may exert their effects on the heart through changes in calcium metabolism.