Metabolic cost of the stimulated beating of isolated adult rat heart cells in suspension

The HVCN1 voltage-gated proton channel contributes to pH regulation in canine ventricular myocytes

KEY POINTS

Intracellular pH (pH_i ) regulation is crucial for cardiac function, as acidification depresses contractility and causes arrhythmias. H⁺ ions are generated in cardiomyocytes from metabolic processes and particularly from CO₂ hydration, which has been shown to facilitate CO₂ -venting from mitochondria. Currently, the NHE1 Na⁺ /H⁺ exchanger is viewed as the dominant H⁺ -extrusion mechanism in cardiac muscle. We show that the HVCN1 voltage-gated proton channel is present and functional in canine ventricular myocytes, and that HVCN1 and NHE1 both contribute to pH_i regulation. HVCN1 provides an energetically-efficient mechanism of H⁺ -extrusion that would not cause Na⁺ -loading, which can cause pathology, and that could contribute to transport-mediated CO₂ disposal. These results provide a major advance in our understanding of pH_i regulation in cardiac muscle.

ABSTRACT

Regulation of intracellular pH (pH_i ) in cardiomyocytes is crucial for cardiac function; however, currently known mechanisms for direct or indirect extrusion of acid from cardiomyocytes seem insufficient for energetically-efficient extrusion of the massive H⁺ loads generated under in vivo conditions. In cardiomyocytes, voltage-sensitive H⁺ channel activity mediated by the HVCN1 proton channel would be a highly efficient means of disposing of H⁺ , while avoiding Na⁺ -loading, as occurs during direct acid extrusion via Na⁺ /H⁺ exchange or indirect acid extrusion via Na⁺ -HCO₃ ^- cotransport. PCR and immunoblotting demonstrated expression of HVCN1 mRNA and protein in canine heart. Patch clamp analysis of canine ventricular myocytes revealed a voltage-gated H⁺ current that was highly H⁺ -selective. The current was blocked by external Zn²⁺ and the HVCN1 blocker 5-chloro-2-guanidinobenzimidazole (ClGBI). Both the gating and Zn²⁺ blockade of the current were strongly influenced by the pH gradient across the membrane. All characteristics of the observed current were consistent with the known hallmarks of HVCN1-mediated H⁺ current. Inhibition of HVCN1 and the NHE1 Na⁺ /H⁺ exchanger, singly and in combination, showed that either mechanism is largely sufficient to maintain pH_i in beating cardiomyocytes, but that inhibition of both activities causes rapid acidification. These results show that HVCN1 is expressed in canine ventricular myocytes and provides a major H⁺ -extrusion activity, with a capacity similar to that of NHE1. In the beating heart in vivo, this activity would allow Na⁺ -independent extrusion of H⁺ during each action potential and, when functionally coupled with anion transport mechanisms, could facilitate transport-mediated CO₂ disposal. Abstract figure legend The HVCN1 proton channel is expressed in canine ventricular myocytes and contributes to H⁺ extrusion. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Dissecting Cellular Mechanisms of Long-Chain Acylcarnitines-Driven Cardiotoxicity: Disturbance of Calcium Homeostasis, Activation of Ca2+-Dependent Phospholipases, and Mitochondrial Energetics Collapse

Long-chain acylcarnitines (LCAC) are implicated in ischemia-reperfusion (I/R)-induced myocardial injury and mitochondrial dysfunction. Yet, molecular mechanisms underlying involvement of LCAC in cardiac injury are not sufficiently studied. It is known that in cardiomyocytes, palmitoylcarnitine (PC) can induce cytosolic Ca²⁺ accumulation, implicating L-type calcium channels, Na⁺/Ca²⁺ exchanger, and Ca²⁺-release from sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR). Alternatively, PC can evoke dissipation of mitochondrial potential (ΔΨ_m) and mitochondrial permeability transition pore (mPTP). Here, to dissect the complex nature of PC action on Ca²⁺ homeostasis and oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) in cardiomyocytes and mitochondria, the methods of fluorescent microscopy, perforated path-clamp, and mitochondrial assays were used. We found that LCAC in dose-dependent manner can evoke Ca²⁺-sparks and oscillations, long-living Ca²⁺ enriched microdomains, and, finally, Ca²⁺ overload leading to hypercontracture and cardiomyocyte death. Collectively, PC-driven cardiotoxicity involves: (I) redistribution of Ca²⁺ from SR to mitochondria with minimal contribution of external calcium influx; (II) irreversible inhibition of Krebs cycle and OXPHOS underlying limited mitochondrial Ca²⁺ buffering; (III) induction of mPTP reinforced by PC-calcium interplay; (IV) activation of Ca²⁺-dependent phospholipases cPLA2 and PLC. Based on the inhibitory analysis we may suggest that simultaneous inhibition of both phospholipases could be an effective strategy for protection against PC-mediated toxicity in cardiomyocytes.

Use of Isolated Adult Myocytes to Evaluate Cardiotoxicity. II. Preparation and Properties*

The preparation and properties of isolated adult cardiac myocytes are reviewed, with the goal being to evaluate their usefulness as a model system for measuring cardiotoxicity. Some important factors in cell isolation methodology which impact on the quality of the preparation are identified, along with criteria for assessing the quality of cells after isolation. By all criteria, myocytes isolated by good procedures appear to largely retain their original properties. Moreover, the distinctive behavior of adult myocytes under metabolic stress endows them with a particular usefulness as monitors of toxicity. Overall, we conclude that the art of adult heart cell isolation and culture is now sufficiently advanced for either freshly isolated cells in suspension or cells in culture to be a useful model system for toxicity studies.

Energetics of Sensing and Communication in Electric Fish: A Blessing and a Curse in the Anthropocene?

Weakly electric freshwater fish use self-generated electric fields to image their worlds and communicate in the darkness of night and turbid waters. This active sensory/communication modality evolved independently in the freshwaters of South America and Africa, where hundreds of electric fish species are broadly and abundantly distributed. The adaptive advantages of the sensory capacity to forage and communicate in visually-unfavorable environments and outside the detection of visually-guided predators likely contributed to the broad success of these clades across a variety of Afrotropical and neotropical habitats. Here we consider the potentially high and limiting metabolic costs of the active sensory and communication signals that define the gymnotiform weakly electric fish of South America. Recent evidence from two well-studied species suggests that the metabolic costs of electrogenesis can be quite high, sometimes exceeding one-fourth of these fishes' daily energy budget. Supporting such an energetically expensive system has shaped a number of cellular, endocrine, and behavioral adaptations to restrain the metabolic costs of electrogenesis in general or in response to metabolic stress. Despite a suite of adaptations supporting electrogenesis, these weakly electric fish are vulnerable to metabolic stresses such as hypoxia and food restriction. In these conditions, fish reduce signal amplitude presumably as a function of absolute energy shortfall or as a proactive means to conserve energy. In either case, reducing signal amplitude compromises both sensory and communication performance. Such outcomes suggest that the higher metabolic cost of active sensing and communication in weakly electric fish compared with the sensory and communication systems in other neotropical fish might mean that weakly electric fish are disproportionately susceptible to harm from anthropogenic disturbances of neotropical aquatic habitats. Fully evaluating this possibility, however, will require broad comparative studies of metabolic energetics across the diverse clades of gymnotiform electric fish and in comparison to other nonelectric neotropical fishes.

Oxidative stress, mitochondrial permeability transition pore opening and cell death during hypoxia-reoxygenation in adult cardiomyocytes

Reactive oxygen species production is necessary to induce cell death following hypoxia/reoxygenation but the effect of reactive oxygen species produced during hypoxia on mitochondrial permeability transition pore (mPTP) opening and cell death is not established. Here we designed a model of hypoxia/reoxygenation in isolated cardiomyocytes measuring simultaneously reactive oxygen species production, mPTP opening and cell death in order (i) to establish a causal relationship between them, and (ii) to investigate the roles of various reactive oxygen species in mPTP opening. The percentage of cardiomyocytes exhibiting mPTP opening during reoxygenation increased with the duration of hypoxia. Antioxidants increased the time to mPTP opening when present during hypoxia but not at reoxygenation. This was associated with a drop in hydroxyl radical and hydrogen peroxide during hypoxia and the first minutes of reoxygenation. The increase in time to mPTP opening was accompanied by an improvement in cell viability reflected by maintenance of superoxide production at reoxygenation. Cyclosporin A delayed both the time to mPTP opening and cell death despite maintenance of reactive oxygen species production during hypoxia. These findings demonstrate that reactive oxygen species production precedes mPTP opening and that reactive oxygen species produced during hypoxia, particularly hydroxyl radicals and hydrogen peroxide, are necessary to induce mPTP opening which depends on hypoxia duration.

Role of arachidonic acid, lipoxygenase, and mitochondrial depolarization in reperfusion arrhythmias

We have sought evidence that arachidonic acid (AA) induces mitochondrial depolarization in isolated myocytes by a lipoxygenase (LOX)-dependent mechanism and that such depolarization might contribute to arrhythmogenesis following ischemia-reperfusion injury. A method was developed for measuring mitochondrial depolarization in isolated adult rat myocytes in suspension, using tetramethylrhodamine ethyl ester. The addition of AA to myocytes resulted in mitochondrial depolarization that was inhibited by the LOX inhibitor baicalein, by the reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenger mercaptoproprionylglycine, and by the anion channel inhibitor diisothiocyanatostilbene-disulfonic acid (DIDS). AA induced mitochondrial uncoupling and mitochondrial ATPase activity in myocytes, but both were insensitive to baicalein. We conclude that the metabolic effect of AA in myocytes puts mitochondria into an energetically compromised state where membrane potential is easily changed by the DIDS-sensitive LOX/ROS-mediated opening of an inner membrane anion channel. In an in vivo anesthetized rat model of coronary artery occlusion, baicalein was found to strongly inhibit arrhythmias induced by ischemia-reperfusion injury. Arrhythmias following ischemia-reperfusion injury have been previously associated with DIDS-sensitive ROS-mediated mitochondrial depolarization, and free fatty acids including AA were previously found to accumulate during such injury. We therefore conclude that arrhythmias following ischemia-reperfusion injury might originate from mitochondrial depolarization mediated by LOX and AA.

Electrostimulation enhances FAT/CD36-mediated long-chain fatty acid uptake by isolated rat cardiac myocytes

We investigated palmitate uptake and utilization by contracting cardiac myocytes in suspension to explore the link between long-chain fatty acid (FA) uptake and cellular metabolism, in particular the role of fatty acid translocase (FAT)/CD36-mediated transsarcolemmal FA transport. For this, an experimental setup was developed to electrically stimulate cardiomyocytes in multiple parallel incubations. Electrostimulation at voltages > or =170 V resulted in cellular contraction with no detrimental effect on cellular integrity. At 200 V and 4 Hz, palmitate uptake (measured after 3-min incubation) was enhanced 1.5-fold. In both quiescent and contracting myocytes, after their uptake, palmitate was largely and rapidly esterified, mainly into triacylglycerols. Palmitate oxidation (measured after 30 min) contributed to 22% of palmitate taken up by quiescent cardiomyocytes and, after stimulation at 4 Hz, was increased 2.8-fold to contribute to 39% of palmitate utilization. The electrostimulation-mediated increase in palmitate uptake was blocked in the presence of either verapamil, a contraction inhibitor, or sulfo-N-succinimidyl-FA esters, specific inhibitors of FAT/CD36. These data indicate that, in contracting cardiac myocytes, palmitate uptake is increased due to increased flux through FAT/CD36.

Preservation of metabolic reserves and function after storage of myocytes in hypothermic UW solution

Isolated rat myocytes cold stored anaerobically up to 24 h in University of Wisconsin solution lost 95% of their ATP and 100% of their glycogen. They underwent contracture when rewarmed in a Krebs-Henseleit (KH) medium that contained Ca unless Ca addition was delayed. In the latter case, cell function, measured by stimulation-induced cell shortening, was surprisingly well retained. Aerobically stored cells were resistant to Ca on rewarming, although 96% of glycogen was still lost, along with 46% of ATP. Cells that were incubated for 48 h aerobically with the substrates glucose and pyruvate at pH 6.2 retained 77% of their ATP and 59% of their glycogen, with good cell morphology. At pH 6.2, the demand for ATP was only 55% of that at pH 7.4. However, after rewarming, these cells functioned no better than anaerobically stored cells, although their inotropic response to isoproterenol was improved. We conclude that 1) aerobic conditions with substrates at low pH preserve myocyte metabolic reserves well for 48 h, partly by reducing the demand for ATP; 2) rewarming conditions are critical for anaerobically stored cells with metabolic stores that are severely depleted; and 3) unloaded cell function is surprisingly insensitive to a period of severe metabolic deprivation.

Cardiac basal metabolism

We endeavor to show that the metabolism of the nonbeating heart can vary over an extreme range: from values approximating those measured in the beating heart to values of only a small fraction of normal--perhaps mimicking the situation of nonflow arrest during cardiac bypass surgery. We discuss some of the technical issues that make it difficult to establish the magnitude of basal metabolism in vivo. We consider some of the likely contributors to its magnitude and point out that the biochemical reasons for a sizable fraction of the heart's basal ATP usage remain unresolved. We consider many of the physiological factors that can alter the basal metabolic rate, stressing the importance of substrate supply. We point out that the protective effect of hypothermia may be less than is commonly assumed in the literature and suggest that hypoxia and ischemia may be able to regulate basal metabolic rate, thus making an important contribution to the phenomenon of cardiac hibernation.

Mitochondrial NAD(P)H, ADP, oxidative phosphorylation, and contraction in isolated heart cells

To examine the relationship between mitochondrial NADH (NADH(m)) and cardiac work output, NADH(m) and the amplitude and frequency of the contractile response of electrically paced rat heart cells were measured at 25 degrees C. With 5.4 mM glucose plus 2 mM beta-hydroxybutyrate, NADH(m) was reversibly decreased by 23%, and the amplitude of contraction was reversibly decreased by 27% during 4-Hz pacing. With glucose plus 2 mM pyruvate or with 10 mM 2-deoxy-D-glucose, NADH(m) was maintained during rapid pacing, and the contractile amplitude remained high. Phosphocreatine levels decreased with 2-deoxy-D-glucose administration but not with rapid pacing. Respiration increased to meet the increased ATP demand at 30 degrees C. The data suggest that 1) when NADH(m) is decreased during rapid pacing with defined substrates, the amplitude of contraction is decreased; 2) the amplitude of contraction during electrical pacing does not change with rate of pacing when both the ATP and NADH(m) levels are continuously replenished; and 3) the replenishment of NADH(m) during pacing with physiological substrates may be rate-limited by substrate supply to mitochondrial dehydrogenases. During activation of mitochondrial dehydrogenases, or a significant increase in free ADP induced by 2-deoxy-D-glucose, this rate limitation is bypassed or overcome.

Ca uptake by heart cells: I. Ca uptake by the sarcoplasmic reticulum of intact heart cells in suspension

Electric field stimulation of adult rat heart cells suspended in medium with 0.2 mM Ca and isoproterenol caused 45Ca uptake at a rate (5.25 pmol/mg/beat) proportional to stimulation frequency. Uptake was strongly inhibited by verapamil or thapsigargin. 45Ca autoradiography showed that stimulation dependent verapamil sensitive uptake was associated with the rod shaped cells, while the uptake by round cells was unaffected by stimulation and was verapamil-insensitive. 45Ca efflux measurements revealed a caffeine-sensitive component of uptake which was abolished by thapsigargin, and a caffeine-insensitive component. Part of the latter was sensitive to thapsigargin but not to 30 s of stimulation; another part was sensitive to such stimulation but not to thapsigargin. With longer times of stimulation, the caffeine-insensitive pool increased in size, part of which appeared to be mitochondrial Ca uptake via a thapsigargin-sensitive pool. The caffeine-sensitive pool labelled quickly in stimulated cells and its size and rate of labelling was increased by stimulation frequency (3.87 pmol/mg/beat), while the caffeine-insensitive pool labelled more slowly and was relatively insensitive to stimulation (0.77 pmol/mg/beat). We conclude that essentially all of the SR Ca pool, as defined by its involvement in excitation-contraction coupling, is released by caffeine.

Novel chloride-dependent acid loader in the guinea-pig ventricular myocyte: part of a dual acid-loading mechanism

1. The fall of intracellular pH (pH1) following the reduction of extracellular pH (pH0) was investigated in guinea-pig isolated ventricular myocytes using intracellular fluorescence measurements of carboxy-SNARF-1 (to monitor pH1). Cell superfusates were buffered either with a 5% CO2-HCO3- system or were nominally CO2-HCO3-free. 2. Reduction of pH0 from 7.4 to 6.4 reversibly reduced pH1 by about 0.4 pH units, independent of the buffer system used. 3. In HCO3(-)-free conditions, acid loading in low pH0 was not dependent on Na(+)-H+ exchange or on the presence of Na+. It was unaffected by high-K+ solution, by voltage-clamp depolarization, by various divalent cations (Zn2+, Cd2+, Ni2+ and Ba2+) and by the organic Ca2+ channel blocker diltiazem, thus ruling out proton influx through H(+)-or Ca(2+)-conductance channels or influx via a K(+)-H+ exchanger. The fall also persisted in the presence of glycolytic inhibitors, or the lactate transport inhibitor, alpha-cyano-4-hydroxy cinnamate. 4. In HCO3(-)-free conditions, acid loading in low pH0 was reversibly inhibited (by up to 85%) by Cl(-)0 removal and was slowed by the stilbene drug DBDS (dibenzamidostilbene disulphonic acid). In contrast, the Cl(-)-HCO3-exchange inhibitor DIDS (4,4'-diisothiocyanatostilbene-2,2'-disulphonic acid) had no inhibitory effect. Acid loading is therefore mediated by a novel Cl(-)-dependent, acid influx pathway. 5. After switching to CO2-HCO3(-)-buffered conditions, acid loading was doubled. It was still not inhibited by Na(+)-free or high-K+ solutions but was once again inhibited (by 78%) in Cl(-)-free solution. The HCO3(-)-stimulated fraction of acid loading was inhibited by DIDS. 6. We propose a model of acid loading in the cardiomyocyte which consists of two parallel carriers. One is Cl(-)-HCO3-exchange, while we suggest the other to be a novel Cl(-)-OH-exchanger (although we do not rule out the alternative configuration of H(+)-Cl-co-influx). The proposed dual acid-loading mechanism accounts for most of the sensitivity of pH1 to a fall of pH0.

Kinetics of intracellular Ca2+ concentration changes and cell contraction of electrically stimulated cardiomyocytes as analysed by automated digital-imaging microscopy

Enzymatically disaggregated, electrically stimulated cardiomyocytes from adult rats were examined by television-mediated vital microscopy for intracellular Ca2+ concentration and contractile activity. Using an inverted microscope in the epifluorescence mode, the Ca2+ signal was imaged with a low-light-level CCD camera and traced by means of the intracellular concentration of the fluorescent complex of Ca2+ with its indicator Fluo-3. Using the transmitted-light mode, cardiomyocytes that were not loaded were imaged with a conventional CCD camera with automatic gain control and traced by length measurements. Optical images of at least 40 cardiomyocytes per batch of cells from one heart were recorded in up to 20 microscopic fields of observation on videotape within 20 min. They were consecutively analysed by a personal computer installed with an image analysis card at a time-resolution of 20 ms, employing a discrete convolution operation, filtering and threshold setting for fluorescence measurements, and contour description and vectorial analysis for length measurements. Frames of fluorescent images were corrected for the halo effect caused by the increase in the Ca(2+)-dependent fluorescence signal after electrical stimulation. The cell contraction had to be measured in the transmission mode without Fluo-3 due to the inhibition caused by the intracellular Fluo-3. The following coefficients of variation (V) were determined: Vfluorescence < 0.033 and Vtransmission < 0.003 for the precision of measurement, and Vfluorescence < 0.05 and Vtransmission < 0.04 for the reproducibility. The system was validated with isoprenaline and ouabain as agents to modify the Ca(2+)-signal and the contraction. The response of cardiomyocytes of various rats to electrical stimulation, with respect to amplitude and its time point, had a V < 0.08 for both the Ca(2+)-signal and the contraction.

Lactate activates ATP-sensitive potassium channels in guinea pig ventricular myocytes

The functional significance of cardiac ATP-sensitive potassium channels remains controversial because of the discrepancy between the low levels of ATP at which activation of the channels occurs and the much higher levels of ATP maintained during myocardial ischemia. We studied the effects of (+)-lactate, which accumulates in large quantity as a result of increased glycolysis during ischemia, on ATP-sensitive potassium channels in adult guinea pig ventricular myocytes using the whole-cell patch-clamp technique. Lactate at 20-40 mM in the internal solution activated ATP-sensitive potassium channels and shortened action potential duration. Activation of the channels occurred even in the presence of 2-5 mM ATP in the internal solution and was dependent on intracellular free magnesium levels. Our results suggest that intracellular lactate may play a significant role in activating cardiac ATP-sensitive potassium channels and shortening action potential duration even at ATP levels similar to those resulting from moderate to severe myocardial ischemia.

The effects of metabolic inhibition on intracellular calcium and pH in isolated rat ventricular cells

1. Intracellular calcium concentration [( Ca2+]i) and pH (pHi) were measured in single, isolated rat ventricular myocytes using, respectively, the fluorescent indicators Fura-2 and BCECF (2',7'-bis(carboxyethyl-5(6)-carboxyfluorescein). Contraction was measured simultaneously. The intracellular calibration of BCECF is demonstrated. In a HEPES-buffered bathing solution of pH 7.4, pHi had a mean value of 7.16 +/- 0.05 (mean +/- S.E.M.). 2. Addition of NH4Cl (5-20 mM) produced an intracellular alkalosis that was associated with an increase of contraction amplitude. Removal of NH4Cl produced an acidosis and decrease of contraction. 3. The addition of 2 mM-cyanide (CN-) to inhibit oxidative phosphorylation had variable effects on contraction amplitude. Changes of contraction amplitude could largely be accounted for by changes in the systolic Ca2+ transient. 4. CN- addition increased lactic acid production. However, in the majority of experiments, this was not accompanied by an intracellular acidosis. 5. Anaerobic glycolysis was inhibited by either removal of glucose, addition of deoxyglucose, or addition of iodoacetate. Under these conditions the application of CN- decreased systolic [Ca2+]i and contraction amplitude. This was sometimes preceded by a transient increase of systolic [Ca2+]i and contraction amplitude. 6. When glycolysis was inhibited, the subsequent addition of CN- always increased diastolic [Ca2+]i and produced a contracture. The increase of [Ca2+]i occurred before the contracture. However, once the contracture had developed, decreasing [Ca2+]i (by removal of external Ca2+) did not cause relaxation. 7. With glycolysis inhibited, addition of CN- resulted in a large (0.51 +/- 0.05 pH unit) acidosis that was sometimes preceded by an alkalosis. This acidosis was unaffected by removal of external Ca2+ or external alkalinization. Calculations show that some of this acidosis may result from protons released by ATP hydrolysis. 8. If the acidosis produced by metabolic blockade was partly reversed by adding NH4Cl then a contracture immediately developed. This suggests that the acidosis delays the onset of the contracture. 9. We conclude that metabolic inhibition increases diastolic [Ca2+]i. The accompanying acidosis prevents contraction. Once the contracture has developed it is maintained by factors other than increased [Ca2+]i, possibly by a fall of [ATP].

Measurement of Ca channel activity of isolated adult rat heart cells using 54Mn

Isolated adult rat heart cells incubated with 5 microM Mn in a medium with 1 mM Ca showed a rapid phase of Mn binding plus a slow phase of Mn uptake. The rapid phase was extracellular binding, as judged by its temperature-insensitive removal by ethylene glycol bis(beta-aminoethyl ether) N, N'-tetraacetic acid. The slow linear phase represented cellular uptake, as judged by its release with digitonin plus the ionophore A23187. Isoproterenol increased the linear rate of Mn uptake and induced spontaneous beating activity in some cells. Both effects were inhibited by nitrendipine. Electrical stimulation of the cells in suspension increased the linear rate of cellular Mn uptake. The increase was potentiated by isoproterenol, and inhibited by nitrendipine or verapamil. Stimulation-dependent Mn uptake (per milligram protein) was greater for cells from 5- to 6-week-old rats than for 8- to 9-month-old female retired breeder rats, in the presence of isoproterenol. Ryanodine increased the stimulation-dependent Mn uptake in the presence of isoproterenol, but not in its absence. We conclude: (i) that cellular uptake of 54 Mn is a good probe of Ca channel function; (ii) that isoproterenol promotes Mn influx by the channel in isolated heart cells; (iii) that cells from young rats (5-6 weeks) have a higher beta-adrenergically induced Ca channel activity than cells from mature rats (8-9 months); and (iv) that ryanodine promotes Ca channel activity (perhaps indirectly) in the presence of isoproterenol.

Are isolated cardiomyocytes a suitable experimental model in all lines of investigation in basic cardiology?

Isolated cardiac myocytes of adult rats resemble the intact myocardium in many respects. Thus, use of isolated cells has been established in many lines of basic cardiological research. In electrophysiology, ionic channels can apparently be characterized more accurately than in intact tissue. The transport of metabolites across the sarcolemma can be studied independently of the influence of other types of cells and transport barriers. However, most reports about metabolism deal with quiescent cells, which obviously have a very low metabolic rate, provided they are intact, and their oxidative phosphorylation is not uncoupled. Thus, their application as a model of a working heart appears to be restricted. But using electrical stimulation, the metabolic activity of the cells can be gradually enhanced up to those values observed in beating hearts. In this case, the measurement of mechanical parameters as the myocytes respond to the electrical stimulation is of interest. The combination of the measurements of both metabolic and mechanical parameters in a physical model, led us to investigate the possibility of measuring inotropic effects as well as the relationship between mechanical changes and changes in oxygen consumption, e.g. as a result of the utilization of different substrates. This expands the application of the model to pharmacology, in which the influence of the mechanical action of the heart and its oxygen consumption is of major interest. If the model of isolated cardiomyocytes is employed in screening studies, a reduction in the number of experimental animals required for this line of research will inevitably result.

Effects of energy deprivation and hydrogen peroxide on contraction and myoplasmic free calcium concentrations in isolated myocardial muscle cells

The effect of energy deprivation and H2O2 on the contraction, shape, and intracellular free Ca2+ concentration of myocardial muscle cells was investigated using suspensions of freshly isolated, electrically stimulated rat ventricle heart cells. The mitochondrial uncoupling agent carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone (CCCP) was used to decrease the rate of ATP synthesis. At 0.9 mM extracellular Ca2+, CCCP (0.25 microM) reduced the number of contracting cells by 50% after 5 min, and the number of rod-shaped cells by 40% after 10 min. The effects of CCCP were associated with a substantial decrease in measured cellular ATP concentrations. The deleterious effect of exposure of myocytes to CCCP for periods of up to 5 min was enhanced by an increase in the extracellular Ca2+ concentration, but markedly reduced in the absence of electrical stimulation. Verapamil protected myocytes from the deleterious effects of CCCP during the first 5 min but not at later times. In the presence of 46 mM extracellular K+, CCCP caused a marked increase in the myoplasmic free Ca2+ concentration (measured using quin2). This effect was inhibited by verapamil and was not observed in the absence of K+-induced depolarization. Exposure of myocytes to H2O2 (0.5 mM) caused a substantial decrease both in the number of cells which exhibited normal end-to-end synchronous contraction and in the total number of cells which contracted either partially or fully. The effects of H2O2 were more pronounced at higher concentrations of the peroxide, with longer times of exposure to the agent, and at higher concentrations of extracellular Ca2+, and were partially reversed by dimethyl sulfoxide. The results indicate that both ATP deprivation and H2O2, possibly through the generation of free radicals, cause substantial and rapid damage to cardiac myocytes and induce the movement of additional Ca2+ across the sarcolemma to the myoplasm. In the case of ATP deprivation, this initially occurs through voltage-operated channels.

Use of adult rat cardiomyocytes to study cardiac glycogen metabolism

The use of adult rat cardiomyocytes to model cardiac glycogen metabolism was investigated by monitoring the response of glycogen phosphorylase and glycogen synthase to epinephrine and insulin treatment. Cardiomyocytes derived from normal rats respond to epinephrine in the range of 1 X 10(-7) to 5.5 X 10(-6) M epinephrine with an increase in the percent of phosphorylase in the AMP-independent form from 11.5 to 24.8%. In the same cells, insulin in the range of 10(-9) to 10(-7) M increased the glucose 6-phosphate independent form of glycogen synthase from 30.5 to 40.5%. Cells derived from alloxan-diabetic hearts exhibit a hypersensitive phosphorylase activation and a refractile synthase inactivation in response to epinephrine treatment. This pattern is similar to that recorded using perfused heart preparations. The data presented suggests that adult rat cardiomyocytes represent a valid model of glycogen metabolism in both the normal and alloxan-diabetic rat.

Contraction and metabolic activity of electrically stimulated cardiac myocytes from adult rats

An experimental setup has been developed, which allows electrical stimulation of cardiac myocytes and simultaneous measurement of oxygen consumption, lactate production, extent of shortening and of substrate uptake. In resting cells and in cells stimulated with 120 to 480/min the oxygen consumption ranged from 25 to 100 microliter/min X gww, with a linear relationship between rate of stimulation and oxygen consumption (VO2). When using 5 mM glucose plus 2 mM pyruvate or 10 mM lactate as substrates, isoproterenol (8 X 10(-8) M) augmented contraction and VO2 at all rates of stimulation. Assuming Hook's law for passive elastic behavior for the contracting myocytes over the length change observed, a good correlation exists between the degree of cell shortening calculated from VO2 per beat and the degree of contraction measured. This correlation can be used as a measure of the economy of O2 utilization.

Mitochondrial respiratory control in the myocardium

The heart muscle has proved to be a practical model for studying respiratory control in intact tissues. It also demonstrates that control at the level of the respiratory chain is augmented by metabolic control at the substrate level as exemplified by the very narrow range of changes in the redox state of the mitochondrial NADH/NAD couple even during extensive changes in ATP and oxygen consumption. The behaviour of mitochondria when isolated can largely be duplicated in the intact myocardium. Moreover, the high intracellular concentrations of enzymes, coenzymes and adenine nucleotides create conditions of high reaction rates, enabling the formation of a near equilibrium network of certain main pathways. This equilibrium network in connection with metabolic regulation of the hydrogen pressure upon the matrix NADH/NAD pool is a prerequisite for the regulation of cellular respiration at a high efficiency of energy transfer. Experimentation on the intact myocardium also seems to be capable of resolving some of the uncertainties about prevailing mechanisms for the regulation of cellular respiration.

Palmitate oxidation in suspended skeletal muscle fibers from the rat

Palmitate oxidation in rat skeletal muscle was investigated with a suspension of intact isolated cells. M. flexor digitorum brevis was dissociated by a 6 h collagenase treatment to yield single myofibers of which 76% were viable. The contributions of 14CO2 and 14C-labeled acid-soluble intermediates to total oxidation products from palmitate were evaluated. The myofiber suspension exhibited a higher total oxidation rate than the isolated whole muscle, due to improved transport of palmitate to the sarcolemma. Addition of cytoplasmic cofactors L-carnitine, CoASH and ATP did not increase the palmitate oxidation. 14CO2 amounted to about 37% of oxidation products. With [1(-14)C]- and [16(-14)C]palmitate, the oxidation rates were equal. These findings indicate that the cellular integrity was well preserved. The oxidation rates were sharply decreased in fibers with damaged sarcolemmas, and in intact fibers when rotenon and antimycin A were applied. The damaged fibers restored the production of acid-soluble intermediates in the presence of cofactors. The results indicate that suspended skeletal myofibers are an adequate in vitro system for measurements of metabolic activities in the resting muscle.