Evidence of mitochondrial impairment during cardiac allograft rejection.

NADH laser fluorimetry and mitochondrial oxigraphy were used to study myocardial oxidative energy metabolism during cardiac allograft rejection. Heterotopic cardiac transplantation was performed on Lewis rats; allografts (with Fischer rat donors) were compared with isografts (with Lewis rat donors). In vivo and in vitro assays were performed six days after transplantation. Myocardial NADH fluorescence was recorded in vivo from grafted hearts, at baseline; during brief, complete ischemia; and during reperfusion. Oxygen consumption of mitochondria isolated from both native and grafted hearts was determined. Neither baseline levels nor maximum ischemic levels of NADH fluorescence (F0 = k[NADH]) were found to be significantly different between allografts (0.45 +/- 0.05 to 0.87 +/- 0.10) and isografts (0.45 +/- 0.04 to 1.11 +/- 0.05). During recovery, the rate of fluorescence decrease was significantly lower in allografts than in isografts (0.024 +/- 0.001 vs. 0.038 +/- 0.002 delta F0.s-1, P less than 10(-3], indicating a lower rate of NADH reoxidation. In the presence of malate and glutamate substrates, mitochondrial O2 consumption was significantly lower in allografts than in isografts (30 +/- 9 vs. 100 +/- 15 nanoatoms O2. min-1.mg prot-1, P less than 10(-2]. These results indicate that mitochondrial oxidative metabolism was impaired during the rejection process. Such energy production disturbances may contribute to the dysfunction of rejecting hearts.