The effect of ruthenium red (RR) on the electrical and contractile responses, membrane Ca currents, staining patterns of the external and internal membrane system were tested in intact and mechanically skinned muscle fibres of the crayfish Astacus fluviatilis. The following results were obtained: 1. Depression of the contractile responses following membrane depolarization (twitch, tetanus, potassium contractures). 2. Caffeine contractures were unaffected in intact (100 mumol/l - 1 mmol/l RR)

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... blocked in skinned fibres (30 mumol/l RR). 3. Mechanical threshold and mechanical latency were increased and/or prolonged. 4. The rate of depolarization of the action potentials (AP) was decreased and decremental spread of AP was recorded. 5. Both fast and slowly inactivating Ca ionic currents were decreased and the time constants of activation (tau(m] and inactivation (tau(h] were prolonged after RR (100 mumol/l) pretreatment. 6. The penetration of RR into the T-system was inversely related to its binding to the sarcolemma. The depression of depolarization-induced contractions was most pronounced in fibres with unstained sarcolemma and stained T-tubules. In intact fibres, neither terminal cisternae nor other elements of SR were stained. On the contrary, all internal membrane structures were stained in skinned fibres. There was a gradient of staining intensity from surface toward the interior.