Increased resistance of the cardiac sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca(2+)-pump to autolysis after adaptation of rats to stress.

Experiments on rats are reported in which Ca2+ uptake by the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) and the time course of SR Ca(2+)-pump inactivation and Ca2+ leakage from intracellular compartments into the incubation medium were studied in tissue homogenates stored at 4 degrees C. Long-term (6 h) immobilization stress significantly reduced the ability of the SR to take up Ca2+, accelerating (two- to threefold) both Ca(2+)-pump inactivation and Ca2+ leakage induced by autolysis during storage. A course of adaptation to repeated short-term stress prevented the adverse effects of long-term stress on the SR Ca(2+)-pump. Adaptation to repeated stress itself accelerated the rate of Ca2+ uptake by the SR and sharply inhibited the SR Ca(2+)-pump inactivation and Ca2+ leakage induced by autolysis. Possible mechanisms for the adaptive stabilization of SR membranes against factors that cause autolysis are discussed.