Yj. Song et al., ON THE ANTIARRHYTHMIC ACTIONS OF MAGNESIUM IN SINGLE GUINEA-PIG VENTRICULAR MYOCYTES, Clinical and experimental pharmacology and physiology, 23(9), 1996, pp. 830-838
1. The hypotheses that magnesium quickly abolishes arrhythmias by acti
ng as a calcium antagonist or by increasing outward potassium currents
were tested in guinea-pig isolated ventricular myocytes by recording
membrane potentials and currents by means of a single microelectrode d
iscontinuous voltage clamp method. 2. High [Mg2+](o) (4-16 mmol/L) sli
ghtly increased the amplitude and duration of the action potential (AP
) in some myocytes, but overall the changes were not significant, 3. H
igh [Mg2+](o) did not decrease the slow inward current (I-Ca) and had
little effect on voltage- and time-dependent outward potassium current
s whether or not I-Ca was allowed to flow. 4. Zero [Mg2+](o) decreased
the duration, but not amplitude, of the AP. Zero [Mg2+](o) had little
effect on I-Ca and on outward currents except for a small increase in
outward current in the region of the negative slope of the inward rec
tifier current-voltage relationship. 5. In our myocytes, in contrast t
o [Mg2+](o), high [Ca2+](o) significantly increased the amplitude and
decreased the duration of the AP; at the same time, high [Ca2+](o) inc
reases I-Ca and the outward potassium current. 6. High [Mg2+](o) decre
ased the amplitude of the oscillatory potentials (V-os) induced by var
ious Ca2+-overloading procedures (high [Ca2+](o), noradrenaline, strop
hanthidin and barium). 7. It is concluded that the mechanisms by which
high [Mg2+](o) quickly suppresses cardiac arrhythmias are related to
an extracellular action of Mg2+ and do not include a block of I-Ca or
an increase in outward current. Mg2+ can be antiarrhythmic by decreasi
ng V-os amplitude and possibly by screening the fixed negative charges
at the external surface of the sarcolemma.