Reduction of the isoproterenol-induced alterations in cardiac adenine nucleotides and morphology by ribose.

Continuous intravenous infusion of ribose (200 milligrams per kilogram per hour) for 24 hours induced a marked stimulation of cardiac adenine nucleotide biosynthesis in unanesthetized and unrestrained rats that had been treated with isoproterenol subcutaneously (25 milligrams per kilogram). The diminution of adenine nucleotides characteristic for the action of high doses of isoproterenol was entirely prevented, and the incidence of the isoproterenol-induced myocardial cell damage was significantly reduced when ribose was administered. These results support the view that depletion of adenine nucleotides is involved in the development of cardiac necrosis.