The energy cost of relaxation in control and hypertrophic rabbit papillary muscles

On the theoretical limits of detecting cyclic changes in cardiac high-energy phosphates and creatine kinase reaction kinetics using in vivo ³¹P MRS

Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) is absolutely required to fuel normal cyclic contractions of the heart. The creatine kinase (CK) reaction is a major energy reserve reaction that rapidly converts creatine phosphate (PCr) to ATP during the cardiac cycle and at times of stress and ischemia, but is significantly impaired in conditions such as hypertrophy and heart failure. Because the magnitudes of possible in vivo cyclic changes in cardiac high-energy phosphates (HEPs) during the cardiac cycle are not well known from previous work, this study uses mathematical modeling to assess whether, and to what extent, cyclic variations in HEPs and in the rate of ATP synthesis through CK (CK flux) could exist in the human heart, and whether they could be measured with current in vivo (31)P MRS methods. Multi-site exchange models incorporating enzymatic rate equations were used to study the cyclic dynamics of the CK reaction, and Bloch equations were used to simulate (31)P MRS saturation transfer measurements of the CK reaction. The simulations show that short-term buffering of ATP by CK requires temporal variations over the cardiac cycle in the CK reaction velocities modeled by enzymatic rate equations. The maximum variation in HEPs in the normal human heart beating at 60 min(-1) was approximately 0.4 mM and proportional to the velocity of ATP hydrolysis. Such HEP variations are at or below the current limits of detection by in vivo (31)P MRS methods. Bloch equation simulations show that (31)P MRS saturation transfer estimates the time-averaged, pseudo-first-order forward rate constant, k(f,ap)', of the CK reaction, and that periodic short-term fluctuations in kf ' and CK flux are not likely to be detectable in human studies employing current in vivo (31)P MRS methods.

Proteomic Profiling of Early Chronic Pulmonary Hypertension: Evidence for Both Adaptive and Maladaptive Pathology

Background

The molecular mechanisms governing right atrial (RA) and ventricular (RV) hypertrophy and failure in chronic pulmonary hypertension (CPH) remain unclear. The purpose of this investigation was to characterize RA and RV protein changes in CPH and determine their adaptive versus maladaptive role on hypertrophic development.

Methods

Nine dogs underwent sternotomy and RA injection with 3 mg/kg dehydromonocrotaline (DMCT) to induce CPH (n=5) or sternotomy without DMCT (n=4). At 8-10 weeks, RA and RV proteomic analyses were completed after trypsinization of cut 2-D gel electrophoresis spots and peptide sequencing using mass spectrometry.

Results

In the RV, 13 protein spots were significantly altered with DMCT compared to Sham. Downregulated RV proteins included contractile elements: troponin T and C (-1.6 fold change), myosin regulatory light chain 2 (-1.9), cellular energetics modifier: fatty-acid binding protein (-1.5), and (3) ROS scavenger: superoxide dismutase 1 (-1.7). Conversely, beta-myosin heavy chain was upregulated (+1.7). In the RA, 22 proteins spots were altered including the following downregulated proteins contractile elements: tropomyosin 1 alpha chain (-1.9), cellular energetic proteins: ATP synthase (-1.5), fatty-acid binding protein (-2.5), and (3) polyubiquitin (-3.5). Crystallin alpha B (hypertrophy inhibitor) was upregulated in both the RV (+2.2) and RA (+2.6).

Conclusions

In early stage hypertrophy there is adaptive upregulation of major RA and RV contractile substituents and attenuation of the hypertrophic response. However, there are multiple indices of maladaptive pathology including considerable cellular stress associated with aberrancy of actin machinery activity, decreased efficiency of energy utilization, and potentially decreased protein quality control.

Altered creatine kinase adenosine triphosphate kinetics in failing hypertrophied human myocardium

BACKGROUND

The progression of pressure-overload left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) to chronic heart failure (CHF) may involve a relative deficit in energy supply and/or delivery.

METHODS AND RESULTS

We measured myocardial creatine kinase (CK) metabolite concentrations and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) synthesis through CK, the primary energy reserve of the heart, to test the hypothesis that ATP flux through CK is impaired in patients with LVH and CHF. Myocardial ATP levels were normal, but creatine phosphate levels were 35% lower in LVH patients (n = 10) than in normal subjects (n = 14, P < 0.006). Left ventricular mass and CK metabolite levels in LVH were not different from those in patients with LVH and heart failure (LVH+CHF, n = 10); however, the myocardial CK pseudo first-order rate constant was normal in LVH (0.36 +/- 0.04 s(-1) in LVH versus 0.32 +/- 0.06 s(-1) in normal subjects) but halved in LVH+CHF (0.17 +/- 0.06 s(-1), P < 0.001). The net ATP flux through CK was significantly reduced by 30% in LVH (2.2 +/- 0.7 micromol x g(-1) x s(-1), P = 0.011) and by a dramatic 65% in LVH+CHF (1.1 +/- 0.4 micromol x g(-1) x s(-1), P < 0.001) compared with normal subjects (3.1 +/- 0.8 micromol x g(-1) x s(-1)).

CONCLUSIONS

These first observations in human LVH demonstrate that it is not the relative or absolute CK metabolite pool sizes but rather the kinetics of ATP turnover through CK that distinguish failing from nonfailing hypertrophic hearts. Moreover, the deficit in ATP kinetics is similar in systolic and nonsystolic heart failure and is not related to the severity of hypertrophy but to the presence of CHF. Because CK temporally buffers ATP, these observations support the hypothesis that a deficit in myofibrillar energy delivery contributes to CHF pathophysiology in human LVH.

Cardiac energetics: sense and nonsense

1. The background to current ideas in cardiac energetics is outlined and, in the genomic era, the need is stressed for detailed knowledge of mouse heart mechanics and energetics. 2. The mouse heart is clearly different to the rat in terms of its excitation-contraction (EC) coupling and the common assumption that heart rate difference between mice and humans will account for the eightfold difference in myocardial oxygen consumption is wrong, because the energy per beat of the mouse heart is approximately one-third that of the human heart. 3. In vivo evidence suggests that there may well be an eightfold species difference in the non-beating metabolism of mice and human hearts. It is speculated that the magnitude of basal metabolism in the heart is regulatable and that, in the absence of perfusion, it falls to approximately one-quarter of its in vivo rate and that in clinical conditions, such as hibernation, it probably decreases; its magnitude may be controlled by the endothelium. 4. The active energy balance sheet is briefly discussed and it is suggested that the activation heat accounts for 20-25% of the active energy per beat and cross-bridge turnover accounts for the balance. It is argued that force, not shortening, is the major determinant of cardiac energy usage. 5. The outcome of recent cardiac modelling with variants of the Huxley and Hill/Eisenberg models is described. It has been necessary to invoke 'loose coupling' to replicate the low cardiac energy flux measured at low afterloads (medium to high velocities of shortening). 6. Lastly, some of the unexplained or 'nonsense' energetic data are outlined and eight unsolved problems in cardiac energetics are discussed.

Force-velocity relationship and biochemical-to-mechanical energy conversion by the sarcomere

The intracellular control mechanism leading to the well-known linear relationship between energy consumption by the sarcomere and the generated mechanical energy is analyzed here by coupling calcium kinetics with cross-bridge cycling. A key element in the control of the biochemical-to-mechanical energy conversion is the effect of filament sliding velocity on cross-bridge cycling. Our earlier studies have established the existence of a negative mechanical feedback mechanism whereby the rate of cross-bridge turnover from the strong, force-generating conformation to the weak, non-force-generating conformation is a linear function of the filament sliding velocity. This feedback allows the analytic derivation of the experimentally established Hill's equation for the force-velocity relationship. Moreover, it allows us to derive the transient length response to load clamps and the transient force response to sarcomere shortening at constant velocity. The results are in agreement with experimental studies. The mechanical feedback regulates the generated power, maintains the linear relationship between energy liberated by the actomyosin-ATPase and the generated mechanical energy, and determines the efficiency of biochemical-to-mechanical energy conversion. The mechanical feedback defines three elements of the mechanical energy: 1) external work done; 2) pseudopotential energy, required for cross-bridge recruitment; and 3) energy dissipation caused by the viscoelastic property of the cross bridge. The last two elements dissipate as heat.