Cellular abnormalities in chronically denervated myocardium. Implications for the transplanted heart.

Heart transplantation involves chronic effects due to denervation, rejection, and treatment of rejection. The chronically denervated dog heart provides a model for the effects of denervation alone. These hearts have been shown to contain intrinsic neurons with VIP and NPY as possible neurotransmitters. Myocardial tissue noradrenaline concentration falls to very low levels after degeneration of postganglionic sympathetic neurons, but dopamine remains in near-normal concentration and is probably synthesized extraneuronally. ANP is present and released normally; however, the natriuretic response to atrial distension is blunted, suggesting that this response is mainly due to a reflex mechanism. Chronically denervated myocardial tissue exhibits increased oxygen consumption in vitro and increased Na-K, ATPase activity but has normal tissue levels of ATP and creatine phosphate. Glucose oxidation is inhibited in vivo, associated with increased levels of fructose-6-phosphate but normal glucose-6-phosphate, suggesting inhibition of phosphofructokinase activity. However, the enzyme protein concentration of phosphofructokinase, as judged by maximal in vitro activity, is normal. Maximal in vitro activities of succinate dehydrogenase, cytochrome oxidase, monoamine oxidase, calcium-dependent ATPase, and glyceraldehyde-3-dehydrogenase are also normal. From these findings, we would predict that patients with transplanted hearts are likely to show myocardial metabolic inefficiency.