Glycolytic flux, as well as glucose, fatty acid, and lactate oxidation, was determined in isolated working hearts obtained from 1- and 7-day-old rabbits. One-day-old rabbit hearts were perfused via the inferior cava against a constant aortic and pulmonary arterial afterload, whereas hearts from 7-day-old rabbits were perfused via the left atria against a constant aortic afterload. Hearts were perfused with buffer containing 100 microU/ml insulin and either 1) 11 mM [U-14C/2-3H]glucose, 0.4 mM palmitate, 2 mM lactate; 2) 11 mM glucose, 0.4 mM [1-14C]palmitate, 2 mM lactate; or 3) 11 mM glucose, 0.4 mM palmitate, 2 mM [U-14C]lactate. Glycolytic rates (measured as 3H2O production) were high in 1-day-old hearts but decreased by 7 days (from 2,730 +/- 280 to 580 +/- 80 nmol.min-1.g dry wt-1). Rates of glucose oxidation (measured as 14CO2 production) were lower in both 1- and 7-day-old hearts (59 +/- 4.4 and 23 +/- 2 nmol.min-1.g dry wt-1). Palmitate oxidation rates were low in 1-day-old hearts but dramatically increased by 7 days (22.6 +/- 5.6 and 305 +/- 33 nmol oxidized.min-1.g dry wt-1, respectively). In contrast, lactate was readily oxidized by both 1- and 7-day-old hearts (169 +/- 14 and 456 +/- 52 nmol.min-1.g dry wt-1, respectively). In 1-day-old hearts, 44% of steady-state ATP production from exogenous sources were derived from glycolysis, whereas 18, 13, and 25% were derived from glucose, palmitate, and lactate oxidation, respectively.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

No abstract

The ability of newborn rabbit hearts to utilize fatty acids as an energy substrate was determined. Isolated working hearts from 1- or 7-day-old rabbits were perfused with Krebs-Henseleit buffer containing either 11 mM glucose or 0.4 mM palmitate as carbon substrates. One-day-old rabbit hearts were perfused at a 11.5-mmHg filling pressure via the inferior vena cava and at a combined aortic and pulmonary arterial hydrostatic afterload of 20 mmHg. In these hearts, addition of insulin was necessary to maintain mechanical function. Function was maintained in the presence of glucose or glucose plus palmitate but not in the presence of palmitate alone. Measurement of glucose and palmitate oxidation rates in hearts perfused with glucose, palmitate, and insulin showed that 57% of ATP production from exogenous substrates was provided by glucose. Substrate use was also measured in 7-day-old rabbit hearts perfused in the Neely working heart mode at a 7.5-mmHg preload and 30-mmHg afterload. In these hearts, function could be maintained in the presence of either glucose alone or palmitate alone. Insulin addition was not necessary to maintain function. Measurement of glucose and palmitate oxidation in 7-day-old rabbit hearts perfused with glucose, palmitate, and insulin showed that only 10% of ATP production from exogenous substrates was provided by glucose. These data demonstrate that between 1 and 7 days of life in the rabbit the heart switches to using predominantly fatty acids as an energy substrate.

The effects of palmitate on mechanical failure of ischemic hearts were studied in acutely (48-hour) and chronically (6-week) streptozotocin diabetic rats. Coronary flow was reduced by 50% in isolated working hearts perfused at a 15 cm H2O preload and 100 mm Hg afterload by the one-way ball valve model of ischemia. Peak systolic pressure (PSP) and cardiac output (CO) decreased 40% by 4 minutes in control hearts perfused with 11 mM glucose and paced at 280 beats/min, compared with 50% in hearts from acutely diabetic rats. Addition of 1.2 mM palmitate to the perfusate accelerated failure rates, with PSP and CO decreasing 65% and 80% by 4 minutes in control and acutely diabetic rat hearts, respectively. In chronically diabetic rats, mechanical function could not be maintained in palmitate-perfused hearts paced at 280 beats/min, even in the absence of ischemia. If these hearts were paced at 250 beats/min and subjected to ischemia, PSP and CO decreased 90% by 4 minutes, regardless of whether palmitate was added to the perfusate. Under these conditions, PSP decreased less than 10% by 4 minutes in both palmitate- or glucose-perfused control hearts. Etomoxir (10(-9) M), a carnitine palmitoyltransferase I inhibitor, markedly decreased the rate of mechanical failure in both acutely and chronically diabetic rat hearts, in the presence and absence of palmitate. The beneficial effect of Etomoxir on mechanical function did not occur as a result of a decrease in either myocardial long chain acyl-coenzyme A or long chain acylcarnitine levels.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Between 1 and 7 days of life, the newborn rabbit heart shifts from predominantly using carbohydrates to predominantly using fatty acids as an energy substrate. We therefore used isolated working hearts from 1- or 7-day-old rabbits to determine the effects of fatty acids on myocardial glucose use and the ability of hearts to recover following various periods of transient no-flow ischemia. One-day-old hearts were perfused via the inferior vena cava and ejected buffer through the cannulated aorta and pulmonary artery. Seven-day-old hearts were perfused via the left atrium and ejected buffer through the cannulated aorta. To measure glucose use, hearts were perfused with 11 mM [3H, 14C]glucose, 3% albumin, and 500 microU insulin/mL, in the presence or absence of 0.4 mM palmitate. In the absence of fatty acids, glycolytic rates were similar in 1- and 7-day-old hearts, whereas glucose oxidation rates were 5 times greater in 7-day-old hearts. Palmitate did not have any major effects on overall glucose use in 1-day-old hearts, but did markedly inhibit glycolysis and glucose oxidation in 7-day-old hearts. A series of hearts were also subjected to periods (25-60 min) of no-flow ischemia, followed by 30 min of aerobic reperfusion. In the absence of palmitate, 1-day-old hearts subjected to ischemic periods of up to 60 min recovered some degree of mechanical function during reperfusion, whereas 7-day-old rabbit hearts failed to recover if hearts were subjected to ischemic periods of 35 min or longer.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)