Lack of role for nitric oxide in cholinergic modulation of myocardial contractility in vivo

Despite intensive investigation, the role of nitric oxide (NO) in cholinergic modulation of myocardial contractility remains unresolved. The left anterior descending coronary artery of 34 anesthetized, open-chest dogs was perfused via an extracorporeal circuit. Segmental shortening (SS) was measured with ultrasonic crystals and coronary blood flow (CBF) was measured with an ultrasonic flow transducer. An intracoronary infusion of ACh (20 μg/min) was performed, with CBF held constant, under baseline and during dobutamine, CaCl2, or amrinone at doses increasing SS by ∼50% (10 μg/min, 15 mg/min, and 300 μg/min ic, respectively). ACh-induced responses during dobutamine were also assessed following treatment with the NO synthase inhibitorN G-nitro-l-arginine methyl ester (l-NAME; 300 μg/min ic for 15 min). The effects of sodium nitroprusside (SNP; 80 μg/min ic), an exogenous NO donor, bradykinin (2.5 μg/min ic), a nonmuscarinic releaser of endothelial NO, and bilateral vagal stimulation (before and after l-NAM...