Chronic coronary arterial stenosis impairs alpha 1-adrenoreceptor signaling and cardiac performance in rats

Abstract

Coronary stenosis was induced in rats to determine whether chronic coronary artery constriction resulted in impairment of cardiac pump performance, alterations in alpha 1-adrenoreceptor signal transduction, and inadequate myocardial hypertrophy, and these parameters were examined 6 mo later. A 50% reduction in coronary diameter was associated with an elevation in left ventricular end-diastolic pressure, whereas left ventricular peak systolic pressure, rate of pressure rise and decay were reduced. The hypertrophic response was modest, since statistically significant increases of 11% and 23% in left and right ventricular weights were measured. Radioligand binding documented an 18% and a 38% statistically significant reduction in alpha 1-adrenoreceptor density of the left and right myocardium, respectively. ADP ribosylation of the 41-kDa substrate by pertussis toxin showed a 16% significant decrease of this parameter in the left myocardium. Moreover, a 29% decrease in norepinephrine stimulated phosphoinositol turnover was seen in myocytes, and this change was statistically significant. The depressed generation of intracellular second messengers linked to the alpha 1-adrenoreceptors was found in conjunction with a 19% significant reduction in myocardial norepinephrine content. In conclusion, the long-term effects of coronary stenosis involve impaired transduction of adrenergic signals, which, in combination with constraints on myocardial growth, may participate in the onset of ventricular dysfunction in this model.