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Peak tetanic tension was measured during acidosis resulting from either hypercapnia or repetitive tetanic stimulation in isolated, arterially perfused cat biceps brachii (predominantly fast twitch) or soleus (slow twitch) muscles. Phosphocreatine (PCr), Pi, intracellular pH (pHi), and extracellular pH (pHo) were monitored by 31P-nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. During repetitive stimulation under normocapnic conditions (5% CO2, pHo 7.4) Pi increased, pHi decreased from 7.1 to 6.3, and there were significant correlations between both pHi and calculated [H2PO4-] vs. peak tetanic force in both muscle types. However, hypercapnic perfusion (70% CO2, pHo, 6.7, pHi 6.4-6.5) had no effect on peak tetanic force, and there was no significant correlation between pHi or [H2PO4-] during hypercapnia in either muscle. The results indicate that decreased peak tetanic force during repetitive stimulation is not directly due to changes in pHi or diprotonated phosphate.

31P-NMR has been used extensively to estimate intracellular pH. It also can be used to measure extracellular pH and volume when an NMR-detectable extracellular phosphorous probe is used. Phosphonic acids have been suggested as useful 31P-NMR extracellular markers. The present study was designed to assess the utility of phenylphosphonic acid (PPA) as a 31P-NMR extracellular marker in perfused smooth muscle. Rabbit bladder strips were exposed to PPA concentrations of 1-20 mM. Tension development in response to maximal carbachol challenges (10 microM) was independent of PPA concentration. Addition of PPA (6 mM) to the perfusate supplying the isolated resting rabbit bladder had no effect on 31P-NMR-detectable phosphatic compounds. PPA's resonance frequency was distinctly downfield from endogenous phosphates and demonstrated a pH-dependent chemical shift of +/- 1.12 ppm/pH unit over the range of 6.4 to 7.6 with a pK' of 7.09 at 23 degrees C. The time courses for washing PPA in and out of the resting bladder were best described by monotonic exponential growth (r = 0.972; n = 3) and decay (r = 0.972; n = 3) equations, respectively. Rate and time constants for PPA wash-in (0.039 +/- 0.004 min-1 and 25.7 +/- 2.3 minutes) and washout (0.038 +/- 0.000 min-1 and 26.3 +/- 0.0 minutes) were not significantly different. Using steady state PPA and ATP peak intensities and concentrations, an extracellular-to-intracellular ratio was calculated to be 0.31 +/- 0.03 (n = 3). These data indicate that PPA remains distributed exclusively in the extracellular spaces.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

31P-NMR spectroscopy was performed on vascular smooth muscle (VSM; porcine carotid artery) superfused with a substrate-free high K(+)-PSS. Scans were collected before (control), during (hypoxia), and after (post-control) hypoxia, and chemical measurements of ATP (0.070 +/- 0.13 mumoles/g wet wt.) and creatine (2.04 +/- 0.14 mumol/g wet wt.) were made. During hypoxia, well-defined beta-ADP signals were consistently resolved. Their areas indicated that after 30, 60, and 90 min of hypoxia, free ADP was 0.05 +/- 0.01, 0.09 +/- 0.01, and 0.12 +/- 0.01 mumol/g wet wt., respectively. The apparent tissue equilibrium constant (Kck) for creatine kinase (CK) was calculated using 90 min hypoxic data and was 7.6 +/- 0.6 x 10(8) M-1. It was used to compute free ADP levels (mumol/g wet wt.) for control (0.028 +/- 0.002) and post-control (0.23 +/- 0.003) periods, since ADP signals could not be directly detected, and for the 30 and 60 min hypoxic periods (0.05 +/- 0.01 and 0.08 +/- 0.01, respectively). The Kck-dependent ADP values for the 30 and 60 min hypoxic periods periods were the same as the ADP values determined directly from the beta-ADP peak areas, suggesting that the CK reaction is in equilibrium in smooth muscle. These data show that 31P-NMR provides a means of directly measuring free ADP in hypoxic smooth muscle and a more accurate means of computing free ADP levels in normoxic VSM through the use of an in situ tissue Kck vs an assumed or in vitro Kck.

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