Morphometric analysis of the rabbit myocardium after chronic ethanol feeding - early capillary changes

Smoking, alcohol and opioids effect on coronary microcirculation: an update overview

Smoking, heavy alcohol drinking and drug abuse are detrimental lifestyle factors leading to loss of million years of healthy life annually. One of the major health complications caused by these substances is the development of cardiovascular diseases (CVD), which accounts for a significant proportion of substance-induced death. Smoking and excessive alcohol consumption are related to the higher risk of acute myocardial infarction. Similarly, opioid addiction, as one of the most commonly used substances worldwide, is associated with cardiac events such as ischemia and myocardial infarction (MI). As supported by many studies, coronary artery disease (CAD) is considered as a major cause for substance-induced cardiac events. Nonetheless, over the last three decades, a growing body of evidence indicates that a significant proportion of substance-induced cardiac ischemia or MI cases, do not manifest any signs of CAD. In the absence of CAD, the coronary microvascular dysfunction is believed to be the main underlying reason for CVD. To date, comprehensive literature reviews have been published on the clinicopathology of CAD caused by smoking and opioids, as well as macrovascular pathological features of the alcoholic cardiomyopathy. However, to the best of our knowledge there is no review article about the impact of these substances on the coronary microvascular network. Therefore, the present review will focus on the current understanding of the pathophysiological alterations in the coronary microcirculation triggered by smoking, alcohol and opioids.

Slow conduction and gap junction remodeling in murine ventricle after chronic alcohol ingestion

BACKGROUND

Long-term heavy alcohol drinkers are prone to the development of cardiac arrhythmia. To understand the mechanisms, we evaluated the cardiac structural and electrophysiological changes in mice chronically drinking excessive alcohol.

RESULTS

Male C57BL/6J mice were given 36% alcohol in the drinking water. Those given blank water were used as control. Twelve weeks later, the phenotypic characteristics of the heart, including gap junctions and electrical properties were examined. In the alcohol group the ventricles contained a smaller size of cardiomyocytes and a higher density of capillary networks, compared to the control. Western blots showed that, after drinking alcohol, the content of connexin43 (Cx43) protein in the left ventricle was increased by 18% (p < 0.05). Consistently, immunoconfocal microscopy demonstrated that Cx43 gap junctions were up-regulated in the alcohol group with a disorganized distribution, compared to the control. Optical mapping showed that the alcohol group had a reduced conduction velocity (40 ± 18 vs 60 ± 7 cm/sec, p < 0.05) and a higher incidence of ventricular tachyarrhythmia (62% vs 30%, p < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

Long-term excessive alcohol intake resulted in extensive cardiac remodeling, including changes in expression and distribution of gap junctions, growth of capillary network, reduction of cardiomyocyte size, and decrease of myocardial conduction.

Effects of ethanol on lipids and atherosclerosis

Moderate alcohol consumption is associated with an increase in plasma high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol concentration and a decrease in low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol concentration. Changes in the concentration and composition of lipoproteins are estimated to account for more than half of alcohol's protective effect for coronary heart disease. Alcohol intake also affects plasma proteins involved in lipoprotein metabolism: cholesteryl ester transfer protein, phospholipid transfer protein, lecithin:cholesterol acyltransferase, lipoprotein lipase, hepatic lipase, and phospholipases. In addition, alcohol intake may result in acetaldehyde modification of apolipoproteins. Furthermore, "abnormal" lipids, phosphatidylethanol and fatty acid ethyl esters are formed in the presence of ethanol and are associated with lipoproteins in plasma. Ethanol and ethanol-induced modifications of lipids may modulate the effects of lipoproteins on the cells in the arterial wall. The molecular mechanisms involved in these processes are complex, requiring further study to better understand the specific effects of ethanol in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. This review discusses the effects of ethanol on lipoproteins and lipoprotein metabolism, as well as the novel effects of lipoproteins on vascular wall cells.

Nitric oxide-derived nitrate anion contributes to endotoxic shock and multiple organ injury/dysfunction

OBJECTIVE

Because nitrate represents the major end-product of nitric oxide in vivo and can affect enzyme activity, cell electrophysiological functions, and cell membrane integrity, we hypothesized that overaccumulated nitric oxide-derived nitrate anion in tissues or organs in vivo may contribute to endotoxic shock and multiple organ injury/dysfunction during endotoxemia.

DESIGN

Prospective, experimental animal study.

SETTING

Laboratory at a university hospital.

SUBJECTS

Sprague-Dawley rats.

INTERVENTIONS

Rats were injected intraperitoneally with 5, 10, or 20 mg/kg lipopolysaccharide or saline and were studied in groups at 0, 6, 12, and 24 hrs.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS

Significant differences were seen between nitrate concentrations in the heart, lung, kidney, liver, brain, aorta, diaphragm, spleen, thymus, testis or ovary, hind limb muscle, intestine, adipose tissue, bone, bladder, urine and plasma, which imply a nitrate gradient between intracellular and extracellular compartments. Lipopolysaccharide significantly increased nitrate concentration at 12 hrs in most tissues and organs, except in the brain, adipose tissue, and muscle. It increased more in plasma than in tissues. The lipopolysaccharide dose-dependent nitrate concentration was observed only in the aorta and lungs. The nitrate concentration change was paralleled by the systemic inflammatory response syndrome, as indicated by alterations of myeloperoxidase activity and by impaired histologic and cellular membrane integrity in tissues and organs. Mean arterial pressure was negatively correlated with nitrate concentration modifications in the aorta during 24 hrs of endotoxemia.

CONCLUSIONS

These results collectively indicate that overaccumulated nitric oxide-derived nitrate anion in tissues or organs in vivo contributes to endotoxic shock and multiple organ injury/dysfunction during endotoxemia.

Remodeling of resistance arteries in renal failure: effect of endothelin receptor blockade

Remodeling of vessels is a known feature of renal failure, but it is unclear whether this represents an appropriate or inappropriate response to the known changes in blood flow, shear stress, and wall tension. To investigate remodeling in response to variations in blood flow, first-order mesenteric arteries were exposed to high- and low-flow conditions via the ligation of second-order branches, according to the technique described by Pourageaud and De Mey. The resulting changes in vessel geometric features, relative proportions of intima and media, submicroscopic structure, and immunostaining for proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), endothelin-1 (ET-1), and ET(A) receptors were assessed in first-order mesenteric arteries under low-flow and high-flow conditions. Subtotally nephrectomized (SNX) animals were compared with sham-operated rats. Animals either were left untreated or were treated with the ET(A) receptor antagonist (ET-RA) LU-135252, because of suggestions in the literature that ET is involved in vascular remodeling in uremia. A highly significant increase in intimal thickness was noted in low-flow arteries (4.21 +/- 1.39 microm) of SNX animals, compared with normal-flow arteries (2.06 +/- 0.61 microm), but this increase was not observed in sham-operated rats (1.38 +/- 0.77 in low-flow arteries versus 2.40 +/- 0.35 microm in normal-flow arteries). The increase in intimal thickness in low-flow arteries was abrogated by ET-RA. The medial thickness was increased in untreated SNX animals (19.5 +/- 3.61 microm), compared with sham-operated rats, and this increase was also prevented by ET-RA. The medial thickness was not affected by low flow in either sham-operated or SNX animals. In parallel, the number of PCNA-positive intimal cells was higher in low-flow, but not high-flow, arteries of SNX rats, compared with sham-operated rats. No significant change was observed in sham-operated animals. In the media, the number of PCNA-positive cells was higher in untreated SNX animals than in sham-operated rats. The number was even more markedly increased in high-flow, but not low-flow, vessels. This increase was abrogated by ET-RA. It is concluded that, in uremic animals, the response of the intima to low flow and the response of the media to high flow are exaggerated. Both responses are apparently mediated by ET.

Chronic ethanol consumption exacerbates microcirculatory damage in rat mesentery after reperfusion

Although the negative effect of excessive alcohol consumption on later stressful events has long been recognized, pathophysiological mechanisms are incompletely understood. We examined possible roles of oxygen radicals and glutathione content in mesenteric venules of chronically ethanol-fed rats exposed to ischemia-reperfusion. Changes in microvascular hemodynamics, such as red blood cell (RBC) velocity, leukocyte adherence, and albumin extravasation, were monitored in postcapillary venules by intravital fluorescence microscopy. Chronic ethanol feeding significantly exaggerated the magnitude of the decrease in RBC velocity, the increased number of adherent leukocytes, and increased albumin leakage elicited by 10 min of ischemia followed by 30 min of reperfusion. Oxidative stress in the endothelium of venules monitored by dihydrorhodamine 123 (DHR) fluorescence was more severe in rats fed ethanol chronically. Both superoxide dismutase and N-acetyl-L-cysteine, which is known to increase glutathione content, reduced the ischemia-reperfusion-induced decrease in RBC velocity, the number of adherent leukocytes, and the increase in albumin leakage, as well as oxidative activation of DHR. This suggests that the increased reperfusion-induced microvascular disturbances in the mesenteric venules of rats fed ethanol chronically are significantly correlated with excessive production of oxygen-derived free radicals and decreased glutathione synthesis.

Effect of indomethacin on capillary growth and microvasculature in chronically stimulated rat skeletal muscles

1. Capillary proliferation and microvessel diameters were studied in rat ankle flexors subjected to chronic electrical stimulation by implanted electrodes (10 Hz, 0.3 ms pulse width, up to 6 V, 8 h day-1) for 2 or 7 days with or without concurrent indomethacin treatment ( approximately 2 mg day-1 in drinking water) to study the role of prostaglandins in the microcirculation in relation to capillary growth. 2. Diameters of terminal arterioles, capillaries and confluent venules were measured in epi-illuminated muscles, together with capillary red cell velocity, to evaluate whether changes in capillary pressure and/or shear stress participate in capillary growth via release of prostaglandins. 3. Cell proliferation was detected following bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) incorporation and immuno-staining of frozen sections. Labelling was assessed as the percentage of all interstitial nuclei (Haematoxylin-stained) that were BrdU positive. By comparison with serial sections stained for alkaline phosphatase, from which the capillary-to-fibre ratio (C:F) was obtained, labelling was derived for nuclei colocalised either to capillaries or to other non-capillary interstitial cells. 4. C:F increased to 1.89 +/- 0.06 from 1.47 +/- 0.04 in controls only after 7 days stimulation; indomethacin reduced this to 1.55 +/- 0.07. Capillary labelling increased from 2.9 +/- 0.5 % in controls to 11.3 +/- 2.2 % after 2 days stimulation and 10.6 +/- 0.8 % after 7 days. The increase was attenuated by indomethacin at both time points (to 5.8 +/- 1.6 % and 4.2 +/- 0.5 %, respectively). 5. Non-capillary interstitial labelling (2.0 +/- 0.4 % in controls) increased to 9.5 +/- 2.7 % after 2 days stimulation and was back to normal after 7 days (3.2 +/- 0.7 %). Indomethacin depressed the increase at 2 days to 4.0 +/- 1.3 % and had no effect at 7 days (2.9 +/- 0.13 %). Labelling in sham-operated rats with or without indomethacin or in vehicle-treated animals was no different from controls. 6. Arteriolar and venular diameters were increased by 2 days of stimulation but unchanged after 7 days. Indomethacin increased diameters of arterioles after 2 days and venules after 7 days in sham-operated animals, but had no effect on diameters of either vessel type in stimulated muscles. 7. Capillary diameters did not change during acute muscle contractions whereas red cell velocity did. Calculated shear stress in capillaries was thereby increased by 75 %. 8. Thus during chronic electrical stimulation both capillary growth and the cell proliferation that precedes it were attenuated by indomethacin. Transient stimulation-induced increases in arteriolar and venular diameters, which were unaffected by indomethacin, do not implicate increased capillary pressure as a factor in prostaglandin release and capillary growth. Estimations of increases in capillary shear stress during muscle contractions and of a 45 % higher value even at rest after chronic stimulation for 7 days suggest that shear stress is a more likely stimulus for prostaglandin release in chronically stimulated muscles.

Factors involved in capillary growth in the heart

Growth of capillaries in the heart occurs under physiological circumstances during endurance exercise training, exposure to high altitude and/or cold, and changes in cardiac metabolism or heart rate elicited by modification of thyroid hormone levels. Capillary growth in all these conditions can be linked with increased coronary blood flow, decreased heart rate, or both. This paper brings evidence that, although increased blood flow due to long-term administration of coronary vasodilators results in capillary growth, a long-term decrease in heart rate induced by electrical bradycardial pacing in rabbits and pigs, or by chronic administration of a bradycardic drug, alinidine, in rats, stimulates capillary growth with little or no change in coronary blood flow. Decreased heart rate results in increased capillary wall tension, increased end-diastolic volume and increased force of contraction, and thus stretch of the capillary wall. This could lead to release of various growth factors possibly stored in the capillary basement membrane. Correlation was found between capillary density (CD) and the levels of low molecular endothelial cell stimulating angiogenic factor (ESAF) both in rabbit and pig hearts with CD increased by pacing. There was no relation between expression of mRNA for basic fibroblast growth factor and CD in sham-operated and paced rabbit hearts. In contrast, mRNA for TGF beta was increased in paced hearts, and the possible role of this factor in the regulation of capillary growth induced by bradycardia is discussed.

Effect of nifedipine on coronary capillary geometry in normotensive and hypertensive rats

The aim of this study was to describe quantitatively changes in the coronary capillary network resulting from hypertrophy in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and a potential effect of long-term treatment of these animals with nifedipine. Age-matched male SHR and Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats were treated for 27 weeks. Four experimental groups were analyzed: (1) untreated SHR, (2) nifedipine-treated SHR, (3) untreated control WKY rats, and (4) nifedipine-treated WKY rats. Treatment significantly decreased systolic blood pressure in SHR, although normotensive pressures were not reached. SHR had significantly higher cardiac weight, which decreased in nifedipine-treated rats, but values remained above those in control animals. Morphometric evaluation revealed lower capillary density and larger capillary domain area in hearts from SHR, which were partially attenuated by treatment with nifedipine. Capillary domain area was also significantly larger at arteriolar portions compared with domains supplied at venular portions. Capillary segment length was consistently shorter on the venular than arteriolar portion of the capillary, whereas no differences were observed between hearts from WKY rats and SHR. Treatment with nifedipine resulted in a prolongation of segment length. Reconstruction of the three-dimensional capillary supply unit (capillary domain area times capillary segment length) revealed significant differences between the amount of tissue supplied by a capillary at its arteriolar portion than more distally, which was detectable in all experimental groups. In hypertrophic hearts from SHR this tissue volume is increased mainly because of longer intercapillary distances and larger domains, especially on arteriolar portions.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Alteration of vascular endothelium and endothelium smooth muscle interaction after carbogen gas perfusion of isolated rat and guinea pig heart

The aim of the study was to alter the vascular endothelium of the mammalian myocardium with respect to coronary flow regulation and vascular permeability. For this purpose, carbogen gas perfusion (GP) of Langendorff-type isolated rat and guinea pig heart was chosen. Perfusion of the hearts with carbogen gas was possible, as well as replacement of the GP by fluid perfusion. The energetic and mechanical state, the creatine kinase release, and the electron microscopic examination of the rat heart indicated only a moderate to minimal alteration of the cardiomyocytes after GP. As a result of GP a massive alteration of the vascular endothelium could be demonstrated in the rat heart, based on the release of the cytosolic endothelial marker enzyme, purine nucleoside phosphorylase, the partly altered vascular permeability and the morphologically detected endothelial damage to arterioles, capillaries and venules. Moreover, the reduced coronary flow response to short periods of anoxia (rat, guinea pig) and the inverted flow response to serotonin administration with maintained response to sodium nitroprusside (rat) in the post-gas perfusion period reflected an alteration of endothelial smooth muscular interaction in the rat and guinea pig heart. Furthermore, the distensibility of the coronary vasculature was increased in the rat and guinea pig heart in the post-gas perfusion period, where a relative autoregulatory behavior was maintained (rat) or partly maintained (guinea pig) in passively predilated vessels. In conclusion, carbogen gas perfusion of isolated hearts allows to induce preferred alteration of endothelium and endothelium-smooth muscle interaction.

What makes blood vessels grow?

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Capillary neoformation in the rat heart--stereological studies on papillary muscles in hypertrophy and physiologic growth

Stereological investigations on myocardial capillaries provided evidence that the common estimator of capillarity, the capillary density (i.e., number of capillary profiles per unit transverse sectional area), underestimates the true capillary supply since the capillary axes are not oriented perfectly in parallel to the myofiber axes. Recently, we studied the "true" capillarity, i.e., the length density of capillaries (LV = capillary length per capillary volume), in some experimental models of cardiac hypertrophy which have been published elsewhere. It has been shown that LV decreases in renovascular hypertension, but is maintained in physical exercise and after chronic thyroxin application. However, the growth pattern of capillaries in hypertrophic hearts has not yet been analyzed. In the present paper it is demonstrated that important information on the capillary network can be derived from the two-dimensional capillary-to-fiber ratios (2D CFR: capillary profiles per myofiber profiles in transverse sections) and from the three-dimensional capillary-to-fiber ratios (3D CFR: capillary length per unit myofiber length). Increase in both suggests neoformation of additional capillary branches in parallel connection. Retrospective analysis of the quantitative data indicates that in hypertrophy induced by physical exercise or by chronic thyroxin application capillary neoformation in parallel connection counterbalances increase of oxygen diffusion distance due to myofiber enlargement. In renovascular hypertension, capillary neoformation in parallel connection does not occur. Studies on normal growth indicated both a slight decrease of LV of capillaries, as well as a continuous neoformation of additional capillary branches.

The role of blood flow and/or muscle hypoxia in capillary growth in chronically stimulated fast muscles

Capillary supply, the proportion of oxidative fibres and blood flow were studied in fast rat muscles (tibialis anterior, TA, and extensor digitorum, EDL) made ischaemic by ligation of the common iliac artery, in chronically stimulated muscles and in ischaemic chronically stimulated muscles. Stimulation was carried out for 6 h/day at 10 Hz (three periods of 2 h with 90-120-min intervals between stimulations) for 10-12 days using electrodes implanted in the vicinity of the lateral popliteal nerve. Blood flow (measured by radioactive microspheres) was 3.62 +/- 0.52 ml.100 g-1.min-1 at rest and 78.4 +/- 14.6 ml.100 g-1.min-1 (mean +/- SEM) during isometric contractions at 4 Hz. Ischaemic muscles had significantly lower blood flow at rest as well as during contractions (72 +/- 14% and 25 +/- 4% of the values in contralateral muscles respectively). Stimulated muscles had significantly higher flow than contralateral control muscles during contractions; stimulated ischaemic muscles had normal blood flow at rest, but the increase in flow during contractions was limited to a similar extent to that in ischaemic muscles alone. Of all anatomically present capillaries (staining for alkaline phosphatase in frozen sections) the capillary/fibre ratio increased by 36% in stimulated tibialis anterior, but was not significantly different from control muscles in stimulated ischaemic TA and was even lower than in control muscles in stimulated ischaemic EDL. The proportion of fast oxidative fibres (estimated on the basis of histochemical staining for myosin ATPase and succinate dehydrogenase) increased from 53.2 +/- 3.2% in normal EDL to 82.0 +/- 2.3% in chronically stimulated EDL and to 100% in chronically stimulated ischaemic muscles.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Physiologic consequences of local heart irradiation in rats

Noninvasive methods have been used to study the long-term cardiovascular and pulmonary functional changes at rest and after exercise in adult rats following local heart irradiation with single x-ray doses of 15, 17.5 or 20 Gy, and in non-irradiated control animals. Rats that had undergone a chronic exercise program were compared with untrained cohorts. The earliest dysfunction detected was an increased respiratory rate (f) at 10 weeks after irradiation in the highest dose group. In contrast, both telemetric heart-rate (HR) and rhythm and indirect systolic blood pressure measurements performed at rest only revealed changes starting at 43 weeks after irradiation with 20 Gy, up to which point the rats showed no clinical signs of heart failure. However, the number of minutes required for the recovery of the HR to pre-exercise levels following the implementation of a standardized exercise challenge was elevated in untrained rats compared with their trained cohorts at 18 weeks after irradiation with 20 Gy. Increases in recovery times were required in the two lowest dose groups, starting at 26 weeks after irradiation. It was concluded that the reserve capacity of the cardiopulmonary system masks functional decrements at rest for many months following local heart irradiation, necessitating the use of techniques which reveal reductions in reserve capacities. Further, the influence of local irradiation to the heart and lungs deserves closer scrutiny due to mutual interactions.

The effect of long-term administration of alpha 1-blocker prazosin on capillary density in cardiac and skeletal muscle

The effect of prazosin on heart and muscle blood flow and capillary density was studied in rats. In acute experiments, alpha 1-blocker prazosin almost trebled blood flow in fast skeletal muscles [tibialis anterior (TA) and extensor digitorum longus (EDL)], but did not affect coronary flow when infused i.v. at a dose of 0.5 microgram.ml-1.min-1 for 30 min. Prazosin in an equivalent dose was then given orally over a period of 5 weeks to investigate its effect on capillarisation in heart and skeletal muscle. Capillary density (CD, capillaries.mm-2), estimated in frozen sections stained for alkaline phosphatase, was similar in the hearts of prazosin-treated and control rats. Capillary/fibre ratio in skeletal muscles increased from 1.52 +/- 0.019 in control EDL to 1.69 +/- 0.01 (P less than 0.001) and from 1.56 +/- 0.04 in control TA to 2.16 +/- 0.04 (P less than 0.001). In TA, the increase was greater than in EDL both in the glycolytic periphery (from 1.30 +/- 0.13 to 1.75 +/- 0.11, P less than 0.025) and the oxidative core of the muscle (from 1.837 +/- 0.14 to 2.51 +/- 0.12, P less than 0.005). Unilateral crush of the lateral peroneal nerve and subsequent reinnervation over the next 7 weeks resulted in redistribution of fibre types from a typical mosaic pattern into groups composed of fibres of similar oxidative capacity. Capillary density as well as capillary/fibre ratio in purely glycolytic areas was lower when compared to supply of glycolytic fibres in normal muscles.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Beneficial effect of chronic bradycardial pacing on capillary growth and heart performance in volume overload heart hypertrophy

We have previously reported that chronic bradycardial pacing increases both capillary density/mm2 (CD) and maximal work output in normal rabbit hearts. This technique has now been applied to rabbits with volume-overload hypertrophy due to lesion of the aortic valve. Four groups of animals were studied: controls (C), paced (P), valve-lesioned (VL), and paced valve-lesioned (PVL). The aortic valve was lesioned 8 weeks before the acute experiments; pacing was started 4 weeks before the acute experiments, and thus, the PVL group had developed hypertrophy before pacing was started. The degree of hypertrophy was similar in VL hearts whether paced or not: heart wt/body wt ratio increased by 33.5 +/- 8.9% (mean +/- SEM) in VL and 25.2 +/- 8.2% in PVL versus control animals of similar body weight (p less than 0.001). The hearts of the PVL animals showed a higher CD (2,277 +/- 107) than VL hearts (1,383 +/- 43), CD in C hearts of similar weights being 1,595 +/- 103, and in P hearts 2,350 +/- 194. Thus, CD was lower by 14% in VL and higher by 43% in PVL than in C hearts. Valve-lesioning had a significant effect in reducing maximal cardiac minute work (p less than 0.001), whereas pacing significantly improved maximal cardiac minute work (p less than 0.001) to 2.467 +/- 0.206 J/g x 10(-4) in the P group versus 1.609 +/- 0.105 in the C group.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Formation of S-adenosylhomocysteine in the heart. I: An index of free intracellular adenosine

To assess the concentration of free intracellular adenosine in the heart the kinetic properties of cytosolic S-adenosylhomocysteine (SAH) hydrolase were utilized at elevated levels of L-homocysteine (adenosine + L-homocysteine in equilibrium with SAH + H2O). Global hypoxia was induced in the isolated perfused guinea pig heart by graded reduction of perfusion medium PO2 in the presence of saturating concentrations of homocysteine (0.2-1.0 mM). Reduction of PO2 from 660 to 165 mm Hg increased the steady-state concentration of total tissue adenosine from 2.0 +/- 0.2 to 2.8 +/- 0.2 nmoles/g, while the rate of SAH formation increased linearly from 0.22 +/- 0.03 to 2.50 +/- 0.13 nmoles/min/g. When adenosine was exogenously applied at a concentration of 100 microM together with homocysteine (1 mM), SAH accumulation rates were much greater: 23.34 +/- 3.31 and 42.11 +/- 1.73 nmoles/min/g with normoxic (95% O2) and hypoxic (30% O2) perfusion, respectively. The apparent Km and Vmax values for SAH-hydrolase in vivo were estimated to be 20 microM and 59 nmoles/min/g wet wt, respectively. Since the relation between SAH formation and adenosine in the physiological concentration range is linear, the measured rate of SAH accumulation during normoxia and hypoxia permitted the calculation of the free intracellular adenosine level, which was 0.061 nmoles/g (0.08 microM) in the normoxic heart. With hypoxia (PO2 165 mm Hg), this value increased to 1.57 nmoles/g (2.0 microM). Free intracellular adenosine closely correlated with the hypoxia-induced changes in coronary flow. The data reveal that measurement of the rate of SAH accumulation during homocysteine infusion can be used for sensitive assessment of free intracellular adenosine levels. Assuming that the intracellular adenosine concentration equals that in the interstitial space, the results furthermore indicate that the degree of intracellular adenosine formation during hypoxic perfusion is quantitatively sufficient to account for most of the observed increases in coronary flow.

Effect of blood coagulation and platelet aggregation on perfusable capillaries and arterioles in ischemic and nonischemic myocardium

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of blood coagulation and platelet aggregation on the perfusability of arterioles (19-50 micron) and capillaries in subepicardial and subendocardial ischemic and nonischemic myocardium of anesthetized open-chest rabbits. Fluorescein isothiocynate-dextran (MW 150,000) was injected intravenously to label perfusable myocardial microvessels of rabbits that were subjected to 60 min of coronary artery occlusion. Fluorescent microscopy was used to identify the perfusable vessels and an alkaline phosphatase stain was employed to locate the total microvasculature of the heart. Stereological principles were utilized to determine various morphometric parameters. About 25% of the capillaries were incapable of being perfused but virtually all arterioles were perfusable in occluded myocardium of the control group. Essentially all capillaries and arterioles were perfusable in nonoccluded myocardium. Collagen infusion produced a perfusion defect in 14% of the capillaries and arterioles in nonoccluded myocardium and in 33% of the capillaries and arterioles in occluded myocardium. Heparin, prostaglandin E1 (PGE1), or PGE1 + heparin did not prevent the perfusion defect in capillaries of occluded myocardium. It is concluded that while promotion of blood coagulation and platelet aggregation was able to produce microvessel obstruction, these hemostatic mechanisms were not primarily responsible for the capillary obstruction observed during myocardial ischemia in the rabbit heart.

Morphological alterations due to long term alcohol intake in rats

The myocardium and blood vessels of 20 rats kept for one year on DeCarli and Lieber's liquid diet containing alcohol to 36% of total Joules were examined with routine histological, histochemical and electron microscopical methods. No changes in the gross anatomy, histology, histochemistry and electron microscopy of the arteries, veins and capillaries were found. Subcellular damage of the atrial and ventricular myocardial cells was observed. A varying number of mitochondria were affected in each of the animals: degenerated mitochondria, mitochondria with electron lucent matrix, with concentric cristae, of bell shape, with negative succinic dehydrogenase activity or vacuolated mitochondria were found. In 10% the myofibrils, and in 30% the sarcoplasmic reticulum were damaged. Secretion and lipofuscin granules increased in number in 25% of the animals. It is concluded that although the submicroscopic alcoholic alterations are similar to some of those reported in experimental ischaemia, the decrease in myocardial blood flow may not be held solely responsible for the alcoholic damages. A toxic effect of alcohol, acetaldehyde and catecholamine is postulated.

Prolonged feeding of ethanol to the young growing guinea pig. III. Effect on the synthesis of the myocardial contractile proteins

Prolonged ingestion of ethanol may lead to a cardiomyopathy, and studies in the experimental animal have demonstrated alterations in protein metabolism. These changes include depression of protein synthesis with acetaldehyde in the acute experiment, in vitro, and after chronic ethanol ingestion in vivo. The present studies were initiated to see if the inhibition of protein synthesis following prolonged ethanol ingestion involved myocardial contractile proteins. Newly weaned guinea pigs, weighing 350 g, were placed on a regimen of normal laboratory diet with 10% ethanol in the drinking water. Calorie-matched controls, drinking dextromaltose in the water, were simultaneously run. After 40 weeks of ingesting 10% ethanol in the drinking water, hearts from growing guinea pigs were removed and synthesis of myocardial contractile proteins (myosin heavy chains, light chains (LC1, LC2), actin, and tropomyosin) assayed in vitro with 3H-labeled amino acids. With aging, there was a decrease in the rates of synthesis of all the contractile proteins. After 40 weeks of ethanol ingestion, the synthetic rates of myosin heavy and light chains and tropomyosin were the same as in calorie-matched controls, but the synthetic rate of actin was significantly decreased by 20% (p less than 0.01). This decrease in actin synthesis may be the first indication of ultimate inhibition of synthesis of all the contractile proteins which may lead to myofibrillar disorganization and vacuolization reported after chronic ethanol ingestion.

Stereology of myocardial hypertrophy induced by physical exercise

Twenty young female Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned to 2 groups. Ten animals served as sedentary controls, the 10 experimental animals were subjected to a training program with gradually increasing intensity of 18 weeks duration on a motor-driven treadmill. The rats were fixed by retrograde vascular perfusion via the abdominal aorta under anesthesia. Two transverse and 2 longitudinal sections per animal were selected at random from the left ventricular papillary muscles for light and electron microscopic stereological investigation. Length density and surface density of myocardial cells and capillaries were estimated with correction for partial anisotropy and curvature by means of the mathematical model of a Dimroth Watson orientation distribution. Left and right ventricular weight increased by 20% in the exercise group (P less than 0.001), whereas body weight remained unchanged. Physical training led to a significant increase of heart muscle fiber cross-sectional area by 17% (P less than 0.01). The ultrastructural volumetric composition of the myocardial cell cytoplasm by myofibrils, mitochondria, and sarcoplasmic matrix remained unchanged. Volume density, length density and surface density of capillaries, as well as capillary cross-sectional area and capillary anisotropy parameters were not significantly altered by training. From the data one concludes an increase of the 3-dimensional capillary-fiber ratio by 19% (P less than 0.001). Thus physical training induces mild absolute biventricular cardiac hypertrophy in young female rats, in which capillary proliferation compensates for the increase of mean oxygen diffusion distance resulting from fiber thickening, by supplying each unit of fiber length by more units of capillary length.

Estimation of length and surface of anisotropic capillaries

Surface density (SV) and length density (LV) of myocardial capillaries have hitherto been estimated from their profile boundary length (BA) and their numerical density (QA) on transverse sections by the simplifying assumptions of the Krogh model (perfectly anisotropic, straight, unbranched capillaries with constant cross-sectional area). As the capillaries actually are partially anisotropic, curved, branching cylinders with variable cross-sectional area, a geometrical bias arises from the model-reality discrepancies. We have applied and compared two methods to overcome these inconsistencies: (1) estimation of LV and SV by a more realistic model (the Dimroth-Watson distribution); (2) estimation of LV and SV from isotropic uniform random (IUR) sections. Twelve male Wistar rats were fixed by retrograde vascular perfusion. One pair of longitudinal and transverse sections, and six IUR sections per animal were selected at random from the left ventricular papillary muscles. Ultrathin sections were silver-impregnated and studied by light microscopic morphometry. Nearly identical estimates of LV and SV were found by both methods. The model-based estimation provides biologically meaningful anisotropy constants, but it presupposes knowledge of the anisotropy axis. The IUR method provides no measure of anisotropy, but it can be applied in tissues where the anisotropy axis is not known. Both methods are equally efficient and practically unbiased in SV estimation, but the model-based estimation is far more efficient in LV estimation.

Prolonged feeding of ethanol to the young growing guinea pig. II. A model to study the effects of severe ischemia on cardiac protein synthesis

Although acute perfusion of guinea pig hearts with ethanol does not affect cardiac protein synthesis, the latter is inhibited after prolonged ingestion of ethanol when tested in an in vitro system with the working right ventricle. This study reports on the added stress of ischemia on such hearts. Hearts were removed from maturing guinea pigs after 13-16 weeks of ingesting 10% ethanol and were perfused in vitro under conditions of relative ischemia (one-sixth of normal coronary flow) with maintenance of right ventricular load and outflow resistance identical to normal pre-ischemic levels. With this degree of ischemia, there was a 4-6 fold increase in lactate production, an 80% drop in ATP, and a 90% decrease in creatine phosphate after 150 min of the ischemia. Incorporation of both labeled lysine and phenylalanine into cardiac protein was also diminished to 35% of control in the left ventricle and 55% of control in the right. This diminution of protein synthesis was the same in hearts from ethanol-drinking and matched control animals. Thus, prior prolonged ingestion of ethanol did not worsen the inhibition of protein synthesis by oxygen deprivation. There were, however, two significant differences in hemodynamic response to the ischemia by the right ventricles of hearts from ethanol-drinking guinea pigs compared to their matched controls.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)