Relative activities of 5'-nucleotidase and adenosine deaminase in atrial and ventricular myocardium--the enzyme paradox.

The 5'-nucleotidase and adenosine deaminase activities were determined for tissue extracts of up to 10 defined regions of the normal dog heart. The specific activity of 5'-nucleotidase was very significantly higher in atrial than in ventricular myocardium (4 X) and was also higher in right than in left sites of the heart (2 X). The reason for the markedly higher specific activity in atrial muscle is not clear and appears paradoxical relative to adenine nucleotide content and pattern of ATP decay during oxygen deprivation. In contrast to 5'-nucleotidase activity the total adenosine deaminase activity was found to be similar in all sampling sites examined.