Do muscle relaxants influence vascular tone in isolated coronary artery segments?

The aim of this study was to elucidate the influence of four neuromuscular blocking substances on coronary vascular tone using the model of isolated porcine coronary artery segments. We studied the effects of four muscle relaxants, atracurium, pancuronium, rocuronium, and vecuronium (0.1, 1, and 10 microg mL-1 each), on the contractile response to three vasoconstrictors: acetylcholine, histamine, and serotonin. None of the neuromuscular blocking agents under investigation exerted a significant influence on the vasoconstricting effects of these mediators except for pancuronium, which dose-dependently attenuated acetylcholine-mediated contractions (-10.8% attenuation for 10 microg mL-1 pancuronium, P < 0.05). There was no difference between vessels with intact endothelium and denuded preparations. It is concluded that high-dose pancuronium exerts an antimuscarinic effect in vascular smooth muscle. The other neuromuscular agents studied do not alter vascular reactivity of isolated porcine coronary arteries.