Electrophysiologic effects of a short-chain acyl carnitine, L-propionylcarnitine, on isolated canine Purkinje fibers.

The effects of L-propionylcarnitine (PC), a derivative of L-carnitine, on action potentials of canine Purkinje fibers in vitro, were studied under acidic conditions (pH 6.9), using conventional microelectrode techniques. The concentrations of 10(-5) M to 3 X 10(-3) M had no significant effect on action potential amplitude, maximal upstroke velocity of phase 0, and resting potential. However, higher concentrations of PC (10(-2) M and 3 X 10(-2) M) decreased some of these action potential parameters and such high concentrations of PC consistently prolonged the action potential duration (APD), most of which was attributed to the lengthening of phase 3. Under hypoxic conditions (PO2 less than or equal to 40 mm Hg) the drug (10(-2) M) also lengthened the APD with eventual cancellation of the hypoxia-induced shortening in the APD. The drug also prolonged the APD of slow response with a slight decrease in Vmax. In addition, PC significantly (p less than 0.05) depolarized the maximal diastolic potential of the fibers only at low [K+]o (less than or equal to 2.7 mM) and not at high [K+]o (greater than or equal to 5.4 mM). These observations suggest that the PC-induced prolongation of APD is, at least in part, due to a decrease in membrane K+ conductance, an effect partly shared with other amphiphilic intermediates of lipid metabolism, such as palmitylcarnitine or lysophosphatidylcholine.