Suppression of myocardial mitochondrial respiratory function in acute failing hearts made by a short-term Ca2+ free, high Ca2+ coronary perfusion

Increased superoxide production causes coronary endothelial dysfunction and depressed oxygen consumption in the failing heart

This study examined whether increased superoxide (O2−·) production contributes to coronary endothelial dysfunction and decreased coronary blood flow (CBF) in congestive heart failure (CHF). To test this hypothesis, the effects of the low-molecular-weight SOD mimetic M40401 on CBF and myocardial oxygen consumption (MV̇o2) were examined in dogs during normal conditions and after CHF was produced by 4 wk of rapid ventricular pacing. The development of CHF was associated with decreases of left ventricular (LV) systolic pressure, maximum first derivative of LV pressure, MV̇o2, and CBF at rest and during treadmill exercise as well as endothelial dysfunction with impaired vasodilation in response to intracoronary acetylcholine. M40401 increased CBF (18 ± 5%, P < 0.01) and MV̇o2 (14 ± 6%, P < 0.01) in CHF dogs and almost totally reversed the impaired CBF response to acetylcholine. M40401 had no effect on acetylcholine-induced coronary vasodilation, CBF, or MV̇o2 in normal dogs. Western blot analysis demonstrated that extracellular SOD (EC-SOD) was significantly decreased in CHF hearts, whereas mitochondrial Mn-containing SOD was increased. Cytosolic Cu/Zn-containing SOD was unchanged. Both increased O2−· production and decreased vascular O2−· scavenging ability by EC-SOD could have contributed to endothelial dysfunction in the failing hearts.

Effects of intracoronary caffeine on left ventricular mechanoenergetics in Ca2+ overload failing rat hearts

How different the effects of caffeine on cardiac mechanoenergetics in failing hearts are from those of normal hearts remains to be fully elucidated. First we successfully instituted a new experimental model of acute mild heart failure in the rat by 0.005 mM Ca2+ Tyrode perfusion. These failing hearts neither decreased left ventricular end-systolic pressure nor increased left ventricular end-diastolic pressure, indicating unchanged left ventricular mechanics. However, their myocardial mitochondrial respiratory function examined by respiratory control index (RCI) and oxygen consumption rate in state III (State III O2) was significantly depressed compared with normal hearts. From these results, we judged that this Ca2+ protocol could make mild Ca2+ overload acute failing hearts and that this model would be appropriate for comparing the effects of caffeine on cardiac mechanoenergetics between normal hearts and these failing hearts. We investigated the effects of caffeine on cardiac mechanoenergetics above a concentration of 0.05 mM that corresponds to the maximum blood concentration after a healthy human subject drinks a cup of coffee or tea. We obtained results indicating that caffeine depressed left ventricular systolic and diastolic functions and decreased a measure of total mechanical energy per beat in terms of systolic pressure-volume area (PVA) more severely in these failing hearts at concentrations (20-fold higher than the concentration in a cup of coffee) lower than those in normal hearts. This result implies that these acute failing hearts are Ca2+ overloaded.