Effects of felodipine on energy turnover in the rat portal vein

The effects of the vasolidating dihydropyridine, felodipine, on tissue concentrations of high-energy phosphates and on oxygen consumption and lactate production in the smooth muscle of the rat portal vein were investigated. Felodipine (100 nM) caused a gradual decrease in the amplitude of the spontaneous phasic contractions in a calcium-containing medium. The mean active force was reduced by about 80% within 15 min. The inhibition of force was associated with reductions in both oxygen consumption and lactate production. No effects of felodipine could be observed in a calcium-free solution. The metabolic rates and force during felodipine inhibition approached those recorded in the calcium-free media. Felodipine (30 nM) did not alter the tissue levels of ATP, ADP, AMP and phosphocreatine. Relaxation by felodipine is thus associated with a decreased energy demand for contraction and, possibly, ionic translocation. The reduced ATP hydrolysis is compensated for by the regeneration of metabolic ATP, thus keeping the cellular levels of high-energy phosphates constant.