Quantification of the total Na,K-ATPase concentration in atria and ventricles from mammalian species by measuring 3H-ouabain binding to intact myocardial samples. Stability to short term ischemia reperfusion.

Na,K-ATPase concentration was measured by vanadate facilitated 3H-ouabain binding to intact samples taken from various parts of porcine and canine myocardium. In porcine and canine heart 3H-ouabain binding site concentration in ventricles was 1.4-2.5 times larger than in atria. Evaluation of 3H-ouabain binding kinetics revealed no major difference between atria and ventricles: Equilibrium was obtained after the same incubation time in right atrium (RA) as in left ventricle (LV), both in porcine and canine heart. Unspecific uptake and retention of 3H-ouabain was for porcine heart RA and LV 1.5 and 1.4, respectively, and for canine heart RA and LV, both 1.2% filling (i.e., volume (ml) of incubation medium 3H-radioactivity taken up per mass unit (g wet wt.) of tissue multiplied by 100). The apparent dissociation constant (KD) was 1.4 x 10(-8) and 1.9 x 10(-8) in porcine RA and LV and 2.6 x 10(-8) and 6.1 x 10(-8) mol/l in canine RA and LV. Loss of specifically bound 3H-ouabain during the washout procedure occurred with a half-life time (T1/2) of 16.7 and 28.6 in RA and LV of porcine heart and 91.2 and 151.6 h in RA and LV of canine heart. Duly corrected for these errors of the method--factor 1.16 and 1.13, respectively, for porcine RA and LV, and factor 1.11 and 1.13 for canine RA and LV, total 3H-ouabain binding site concentration was found to be 553 +/- 74 and 1037 +/- 45 pmol/g wet wt. (means +/- SEM, n = 5) in porcine RA and LV, and 569 +/- 37 and 1410 +/- 40 pmol/g wet wt. (means +/- SEM, n = 5) in the canine RA and LV. These values were confirmed by measurements of 3H-digoxin binding to the porcine heart. The present quantification of myocardial Na,K-ATPase gives values up to 154 times higher than measurements based upon Na,K-ATPase activities in membrane fractions where the recovery of Na,K-ATPase may be less than 1% due to loss during purification. A higher Na,K-ATPase concentration is found in small animals than in large animals. A relationship between higher concentration of Na,K-ATPase and larger pressure work in ventricles compared to atria is suggested. Myocardial 3H-ouabain binding sites were found to be stable for 20 min of ischemia, followed by 1 h of reperfusion, supporting the concept that myocyte injury induced by short term ischemia may be reversible and that reperfusion may result in normalization.