A comparative study of the effects of procaine, lidocaine, tetracaine and dibucaine on the functions and ultrastructure of isolated rat liver mitochondria

The effects of procaine, lidocaine, tetracaine and dibucaine (10(-5) - 10(-2) M) were tested on isolated rat liver mitochondria by measurements of the respiratory rates and of the membrane potential and by electron microscopy. A general concentration-dependent stimulation of the basal state (respiration before ADP addition) was observed for all local anesthetics studied. Up to the concentration of 10(-3) M, the order of stimulation was: procaine less than lidocaine less than dibucaine less than tetracaine. However, with the exception of dibucaine, which inhibited state-3 respiration (ADP present) in a strictly concentration-dependent manner, the other drugs had a biphasic effect: slight stimulation of state 3 at low and moderate concentrations (less than or equal to 10(-3) M) and inhibition at higher concentrations. Nevertheless, due to a stronger stimulation of the basal state, the acceptor control ratio decreases progressively (uncoupling effect) as the concentration of the drugs increases. The only exception to this observation is procaine in the range of 10(-5) - 10(-4) M, where the stimulation of the two respiration states (although small) is approximately equal and thus the uncoupling effect is absent or negligible. Membrane potential recordings suggested that membrane integrity and phosphorylation capacity were negatively affected at high drug concentrations (greater than 10(-3) M), especially in the case of tetracaine and dibucaine, when 5 x 10(-3) M even produced the collapse of the membrane potential and complete loss of the phosphorylation ability. Electron microscopy confirmed these effects, showing an abundance of either swollen or supercondensed mitochondria, with many membrane ruptures. The action mechanisms of the tertiary amines studied are discussed in terms of interaction of drug with the lipid bilayer and with the membrane proteins. It is concluded that both the inhibitory and the uncoupling effects are dependent, in the first place, on the degree of hydrophobicity of each local anesthetic.