Effect of low concentrations of cyanide on Q_OO2 of tissue slices

¹ Laboratory of Metabolism and Laboratory of Comparative Physiology, Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, México, D. F.

The oxygen consumption of brain, liver, and kidney slices measured in the Warburg apparatus was not significantly depressed by concentrations of sodium cyanide of 0.2, 0.5, and 2 µg/ml. This last concentration is considered equal to that attained in the blood after an injection of 0.2 mg/kg, which produces remarkable in vivo effects described elsewhere. Therefore, the effects obtained in vivo cannot be due to the depression of tissue respiration by cyanide, but are probably caused by the stimulation of chemoreceptors. A concentration of 5 µg/ml notably reduced the Q_OO2 of brain slices, and 10 µg/ml reduced that of all three tissues. As reported by others, 50 µg/ml reduced the Q_OO2 of kidney slices by 80%. It is noteworthy that 0.2 µg/ml of NaCN produced a 40% increase (P < 0.01) in the Q_OO2 of liver slices but only a 5–13% increase, not statistically significant, in brain slices.

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