Adenosine enhances myocardial glucose uptake only in the presence of insulin.

Better understood in other tissues, the effects of adenosine on insulin-stimulated glucose uptake in the heart are poorly understood. Under pentobarbital anesthesia, we instrumented mongrel dogs to obtain general hemodynamics (blood pressure and heart rate), and arterial and coronary sinus blood samples for measuring oxygen and glucose concentrations. An electromagnetic blood flow probe around the circumflex coronary artery allowed determinations of blood flow, and calculation of substrate uptake by the heart (Fick principle). Somatostatin (SRIF) was infused intravenously (0.8 micrograms/kg/min) along with 0, 0.5, 1.0, 5.0, or 10 mU/kg/min regular insulin, and variable quantities of glucose to maintain euglycemia. Concomitant with the SRIF, insulin, and glucose infusions, adenosine was infused in logarithmically increasing rates (0, 0.01, 0.1, 1.0, 10 or 100 mumol/min) for 30 minutes each into the main left coronary arteries. Insulin infusions increased myocardial glucose uptake in a dose-dependent manner. The heart displayed exquisite sensitivity to insulin, with an ED50 of approximately 14 microU/mL (serum insulin). Adenosine infusions in the absence of insulin (SRIF infusion) increased coronary blood flow, but did not alter myocardial glucose uptake. In the presence of insulin, adenosine increased the maximal value for glucose uptake without changing sensitivity to insulin. These results indicate that adenosine enhances myocardial responsiveness to insulin, with respect to glucose uptake, independent of changes in blood flow. Since glucose can be used for anaerobic metabolism, and adenosine levels are known to increase under situations in which myocardial oxygenation is inadequate, these data have serious implications for conditions such as myocardial ischemia or hypoxia, when glycolytic substrate availability is vital.