31P-NMR of high-energy phosphates in perfused rat heart during metabolic acidosis.

Intracellular pH (pHi), intracellular free magnesium concentration ([Mg2+]i), and high-energy phosphates in Langendorff perfused rat hearts were evaluated by 31P-nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) during metabolic acidosis. During acidosis, cardiac pHi approached that of the perfusing solution (pH approximately 6.7) and [Mg2+]i increased. In hearts perfused with glucose as the sole carbon source, the ratio of [phosphocreatine] to [ATP] decreased during acidosis. In contrast, in hearts supplemented with pyruvate (either 2.8 or 10 mM) this ratio increased during acidosis. Oxygen consumption decreased in hearts perfused with glucose only and with pyruvate-glucose. Using the creatine kinase equilibrium constant, we find that [MgADP] is significantly decreased in pyruvate-perfused hearts but is not significantly altered in glucose-perfused hearts during metabolic acidosis. These data indicate that [MgADP] may be the regulator of cardiac oxidative phosphorylation in the presence of excess pyruvate; however, during metabolic acidosis in hearts perfused with glucose only, ATP synthesis appears limited by the availability of pyruvate via glycolysis.