Diabetes alters the myocardial cAMP-protein kinase cascade system.

An isolated perfused working rat heart preparation was used to assess the effect of alloxan-induced diabetes on the cAMP cascade system. Diabetes did not alter basal cAMP, cGMP content, or protein kinase or phosphorylase activities, but depressed (50%) isoproterenol-induced changes in cAMP content and protein kinase activity ratios. In contrast, phosphorylase activation and increased left ventricular pressure (LVP) were unaltered by diabetes. The relationship between cAMP and protein kinase activation is linear in hearts from both normal and diabetic rats. Diabetes did not alter this relationship. The relationship between protein kinase and phosphorylase activation or increases in LVP is also linear. An increase in the slopes obtained with diabetic hearts (P less than 0.05) was observed, suggesting an increased gain in the amplification cascade to protein kinase. The in vivo administration of insulin diminished this response. Thus, diabetes alters the ability of heart to accumulate cAMP and alters the gain of the amplification cascade system subsequent to protein kinase activation. This second effect may indicate an unmasking of a parallel regulatory pathway and in the beta-adrenergic regulation of phosphorylase activity and LVP.