Organotypic tissue culture investigation of homocysteine thiolactone cardiotoxic effect.

Homocysteine thiolactone was demonstrated to inhibit the growth of 10-12-day-old chicken embryo cardiac tissue explants at 7 × 10⁻⁹ -1 × 10⁻³ M concentrations in a dose-dependent manner. The maximal cardiotoxic effect of homocysteine thiolactone was detected at 1 × 10⁻³ M, which corresponds to severe hyperhomocysteinemia. The results of experiments on culturing of cardiac tissue explants in the medium containing homocysteine thiolactone (1 × 10⁻³ M) and ouabain at concentrations regulating the signal-transducing (1 × 10⁻¹⁰ M) and pumping (1 × 10⁻⁸ M) functions of Na⁺,K⁺ -ATPase indicate that the cardiotoxic effect of homocysteine thiolactone is supposed to result from inhibition of the Na⁺,K⁺ -ATPase pumping function.