Glutamate-loading stimulates metabolic flux and improves cell recovery following chemical hypoxia in isolated cardiomyocytes.

The amino acid glutamate is used in cardioplegic solutions, yet evidence is conflicting as to whether or not exogenous glutamate is indeed cardioprotective. This controversy may be because increasing extracellular glutamate does not necessarily lead to an increase in intracellular glutamate. In this study we aimed to determine whether isolation of myocytes in the presence of glutamate resulted in glutamate-loading of the cells, and, if so, whether such loading protected myocytes from simulated (chemical) hypoxia. Single ventricular myocytes were isolated from rat hearts in the presence and absence of 6.4 mM glutamate. Levels of glutamate and ATP were determined using HPLC, and NADH/NAD(+) was determined from cell autofluorescence. Chemical hypoxia was induced by superfusion with a solution containing 2.5 mM cyanide and no glucose. Intracellular [Ca(2+)] was measured by loading cells with indo-1, and cell length was measured using an edge-tracking device. Isolation of myocytes in the presence of glutamate resulted in increased intracellular glutamate levels compared with cells isolated in the absence of glutamate, 1324+/-108 v 948+/-124 pmol/mg protein, respectively (P<0.05). Cells loaded with glutamate showed increased NADH/NAD(+), (0.384+/-0.032 v 0.281+/-0.029, P<0.05) and greater ATP levels (36.031+/-1.633 nmol/mg protein v 19.279+/-3.327 nmol/mg protein, P<0.005) compared to control cells. When subjected to chemical hypoxia, cells underwent rigor-contracture at various timepoints, and were then reperfused following 5 min in rigor. Cells loaded with glutamate showed better recovery of diastolic [Ca(2+)], Ca(2+) transient amplitude, and improved contractile function compared with cells isolated in absence of glutamate. This study demonstrates an efficient method for loading myocytes with glutamate during cell isolation, and myocytes loaded with glutamate showed increased metabolic flux, as indexed by a higher NADH/NAD(+) and ATP content. Myocytes also exhibited better recovery from chemical hypoxia in terms of both Ca(2+) handling and cell contraction.