Experimental congestive heart failure due to myocardial infarction: sarcolemmal receptors and cation transporters.

Abstract

Rats, subsequent to loss of a large amount of left ventricular free wall due to surgically-induced myocardial infarction, form a good model of congestive heart failure. Since depressed cardiac pump function is the hallmark of heart failure, it is suspected that decreased influx of Ca2+ into the cardiac cell is responsible for depressed contractile function. Because Ca2+ movements in the sarcolemmal membrane are known to involve Ca(2+)-channels, Na(+)-Ca2+ exchange, Ca(2+)-pump, Na(+)-K+ ATPase, beta-adrenoceptors and alpha-adrenoceptors directly or indirectly, the status of these mechanisms was examined by employing rats at different degrees of congestive heart failure. The left coronary artery was ligated and hearts were examined 4, 8, and 16 weeks later; sham-operated animals served as controls. The number of Ca2+ channels in the myocardium was depressed in moderate and severe stages of heart failure. Furthermore, depressions in sarcolemmal Na(+)-Ca2+ exchange activity and beta-adrenoceptor number were associated with the development of early stages of heart failure, whereas sarcolemmal Na(+)-K+ ATPase activity was decreased and the number of alpha-adrenoceptors was increased at moderate and severe stages. The Ca(2+)-pump activities were not altered in failing hearts. Thus it appears that changes in Na(+)-Ca2+ exchange as well as beta-adrenoceptors and Ca2+ channels may contribute towards decreasing Ca2+ influx at early and moderate stages of congestive heart failure, respectively. On the other hand, changes in alpha-adrenoceptors and Na(+)-K+ ATPase may act as compensatory mechanisms for maintaining Ca2+ influx at moderate and late stages of congestive heart failure.