Studies on adenosine triphosphatase activity of rat cardiac myosin in isoproterenol-induced cardiac hypertrophy.

Ca2+- and K+ -activated ATPase activity of cardiac myosin from normal and hypertrophied rat hearts was investigated. Cardiac hypertrophy was induced by isoproterenol treatment. A nearly 40% increase in heart mass was seen after seven consecutive days of isoproterenol injection (5 mg/kg) as determined by either heart weight expressed as per cent of body weight or by dry heart weight and total protein content. The measurement of ATP hydrolysis revealed that cardiac myosin from isoproterenol-treated rats had a significant decrease (P less than 0.01) in Ca2+-activated ATPase activity at low ionic strength (0.05 M KCl) in the presence of 5 and 10 mM Ca2+. In contrast, in a high ionic strength medium (0.50 M KCl) the K+- and Ca2+-activated ATPase activity of myosin prepared from hypertrophied myocardium remained unchanged. Comparative analysis of protein present in the light chains of myosin showed no alteration in the proportion of LC1 to LC2 in the myosin from hypertrophied hearts, however, a decrease in the absorption of myosin in the u.v. region was observed. On the basis of our results one can hypothesize that there may be some conformational change in the myosin molecule from hypertrophied myocardium, thereby modifying both Ca2+-sensitivity and ATPase activity at a low KCl concentration.