DMSO alters the contractility and nerve responses of isolated guinea pig skeletal, smooth, and cardiac muscles, potentially via cholinesterase inhibition.
Requires caution with DMSO as solvent in ex vivo muscle studies; leaves open in vivo or clinical relevance.
Isolated, innervated guinea pig preparations have been used to study the effects of dimethylsulfoxide on skeletal, smooth, and cardiac muscles. DMSO depressed the response of the diaphragm to both muscle and nerve stimulation. In addition, it caused spontaneous skeletal muscle fasciculations. DMSO increased the response of the smooth muscle of the stomach to both muscle and nerve stimulation. The amplitude of atrial contraction is augmented considerably by DMSO, although the rate of contraction appears unaffected. Vagal threshold was lowered approximately 50% by a bath concentration of 6% DMSO. Although other explanations are possible, the observed fasciculations of the skeletal muscle, the increased tone of the stomach muscle, and the lowering of the vagal threshold by DMSO could all be due to cholinesterase inhibition.
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Sams et al. (1966) studied this question.
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