On the role of Ca++ binding proteins as possible targets for Ca++ sensitizing agents.

We describe the effects of various cardioactive compounds on the Ca++ activation of force production and ATPase activity in isolated contractile structures from mammalian heart and, in some cases, skeletal muscle. We show that: 1) the Ca++ sensitizing activity of APP 201-533 does not discriminate between cardiac and skeletal muscle and is, therefore, not based on interaction with cardiac troponin I phosphorylation at serine 20. 2) compounds like trifluoperazine or bepridil, both known to interact with calmodulin, increase the Ca++ sensitivity of the contractile structures of the heart, in high concentrations, as expected from the high natural abundance of troponin C. 3) DPI 201-106 interacts with calmodulin (and presumably with the structurally closely related troponin C) in the microM concentration range. Its high Ca(++)-sensitizing potency in skinned cardiac muscle and a certain sensitivity of this effect to the detergent Triton X-100 suggest accumulation of the hydrophobic compound in the myofibrillar protein lattice.