Aminergic modulation of the myogenic heart in the branchiopod crustacean Triops longicaudatus.

Although crustaceans typically have a neurogenic heart, the primitive crustacean Triops longicaudatus has a myogenic heart with the heartbeat arising from the endogenous rhythmic activity of the myocardium. In the present investigation, the effects of six biogenic amines, epinephrine, norepinephrine, dopamine, octopamine, serotonin and histamine, on the myogenic heart of T. longicaudatus were examined. Epinephrine, norepinephrine, dopamine and octopamine accelerated the heartbeat, increasing both the frequency and amplitude of the action potential of the myocardium in a concentration dependent manner. The ability of epinephrine and norepinephrine to produce the acceleratory effects was more potent than that of dopamine and octopamine; the threshold concentrations of epinephrine and norepinephrine were approximately 10(-10) M and those of dopamine and octopamine approximately 10(-7) M. Serotonin weakly inhibited the heartbeat, decreasing both the frequency and amplitude of the myocardial action potential in a concentration dependent manner with a threshold concentration of approximately 10(-6) M. Histamine exhibited no effect on the heartbeat. The results provide the first evidence for direct effects of amines on the crustacean myocardium and suggest neurohormonal regulation of the myogenic heart in T. longicaudatus.