Effects of cromakalim on the electrical slow wave in the circular muscle of guinea-pig gastric antrum.

1. In circular muscle strips of the antrum of guinea-pig stomach, the effects of cromakalim were studied on mechanical activity and intracellular membrane potential. 2. Cromakalim inhibited mechanical activity at concentrations higher than 1 microM, accompanied by membrane hyperpolarization and a decrease in membrane resistance. The hyperpolarization was markedly potentiated in K(+)-free solution and was still observed in the absence of Na+. 3. Slow wave electrical activity was relatively resistant to cromakalim. Changes in its amplitude and frequency were not consistent but blockade of slow waves was never observed. In many preparations cromakalim induced spike-like potentials at the top of slow waves, or when spike-like potentials already existed they were potentiated. However, mechanical activity was always inhibited. 4. Inhibition by cromakalim of the phasic contractions associated with the slow waves, could not be reversed by increasing the external K+ concentration (12-30 mM). 5. The results suggest that in guinea-pig stomach muscle mechanical suppression by cromakalim does not simply result from membrane hyperpolarization or from inhibition of slow waves. A clear dissociation was found between the mechanical and electrical activities. Slow waves, particularly their frequency, are relatively insensitive to membrane hyperpolarization.