Influence of ammonium ions on mechanical and electrophysiological responses of skeletal muscle.

Substitution of ammonium ions for sodium ion initially potentiated and then depressed twitch tension of the frog sartorius muscle. The extent of potentiation and the rate of depression of the twitch were dependent upon the concentration of ammonium ions. Ammonium ion depolarized individual muscle fibers in proportion to concentration. Maximum depolarization (33 mV) occurred in muscles equilibrated in 120 mM ammonium-Ringer for 30 min. At the higher concentration of ammonium (72--120 mM), the potentiation was quickly reversed and the tension response was eliminated completely. The gradual loss of twitch tension was accompanied by progressive decrease in the electrical excitability of individual muscle fibers. Raising the extracellular calcium concentration fivefold reduced the twitch-depressant effect of ammonium ions by maintaining excitability of the muscle fibers. Caffeine contractures (3 and 10 mM) in muscles preequilibrated in 72 mM ammonium-Ringer developed similar tensions to paired controls muscles, but the onset of tension was more rapid in the ammonium-treated muscle. It was concluded that the depression of tension could be accounted for by the loss of membrane excitability and that the evidence did not support the hypothesis that ammonium ions acted at other sites in the excitation contraction coupling.