Characteristics of rat hindlimbs perfused with erythrocyte- and albumin-free medium.

The isolated rat hindlimb was perfused with Krebs-bicarbonate buffer without erythrocytes and albumin in a flow-through mode at 32 degrees C, and the viability and metabolic characteristics of perfused skeletal muscle were examined. 1) With the flow rate at 15 ml X min-1 X leg-1, glucose and O2 uptake, lactate release, lactate-to-pyruvate ratio in effluent, and tissue creatine phosphate and adenine nucleotides remained constant at rest during perfusion for 90 min. The twitch tension changed little over perfusion. 2) When the leg was stimulated at a frequency below 0.5 Hz, the standard flow rate adequately delivered O2 to the perfused leg. Sciatic nerve stimulation enhanced glucose uptake in the absence of insulin. 3) The stimulatory effect of insulin on glucose uptake was observed with a concentration as low as 0.1 mU/ml, and maximal effect was at approximately mU/ml, with a nearly eightfold increase in glucose uptake. 4) Epinephrine and isoproterenol at a concentration of 0.5 nM stimulated lactate release, with maximal effect at 5 nM. The response to catecholamines was reversible and reproducible with a single preparation during the perfusion period of 120 min. The results indicated that the perfusion of hindlimb with a hemoglobin- and albumin-free medium is a convenient and reliable tool for the biochemical investigations of the integral function of hindlimb skeletal muscle.