Leakage of cytoplasmic enzymes from rat heart by the stress of cardiac beating after increase in cell membrane fragility by anoxia.

The effects of spontaneous beating after anoxia and the pumping stress induced by a left ventricular balloon on the leakage of myocardial enzymes from the isolated perfused rat heart were investigated. Beating of the heart was arrested by perfusion with high-K+ medium. When the beating was arrested during reoxygenation after anoxia, the leakage of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) was significantly lower than during reoxygenation with spontaneous cardiac beating. After changing from K+ arrest to spontaneous beating by perfusion with low-K+ medium during reoxygenation, the leakage of LDH increased markedly. Imposition of left ventricular wall stress on the K(+)-arrested heart by repetitive passive distension during aerobic perfusion and after 20 min and 60 min of anoxia caused LDH leakages of 1.0, 4.6 and 21.0 units/g in 30 min, respectively. Under this mechanical stress, the release of LDH as a percentage of its total myocardial activity coincided well with that of cytoplasmic aspartate aminotransferase (AST), while the percentage release of mitochondrial AST was much less. These results appeared to indicate that the leakage of cytoplasmic enzymes during reoxygenation is accelerated by cardiac beating because of fragility of the cell membranes developing during the preceding anoxia.