Postnatal development of adrenergic responsiveness in the rabbit heart.

It is uncertain how changes in the beta-adrenoceptor population influence the contractility of developing heart. To resolve this we have examined postnatal developmental changes in the adrenergic responsiveness of the rabbit heart. The inotropic effect of isoproterenol on isolated left ventricular papillary muscles from rabbits aged 3, 21, and 90 days was compared with the relative number of beta-adrenoceptors at each age measured using [3H]dihydroalprenolol ([3H]DHA) as the specific ligand. The maximum tension developed in response to isoproterenol increases from 37 +/- 7 to 175 +/- 33% above control twitch tension between 3 and 21 days of age; this is followed by a decrease to 68 +/- 12% in the young adult. During this period of development, there is a decline in EC50 towards increased sensitivity. These differences are partially accounted for by an increase in the numbers of specific [3H]DHA binding sites from 17.3 +/- 2.3 to 56.6 +/- 9.9 fmol/mg wet tissue weight from 3 to 21 days, and a subsequent decrease to 32 +/- 4.5 fmol/mg tissue in the young adult. The proportionally larger increase in contractility compared with the number of beta-adrenoceptor binding sites during the first 3 weeks of life is discussed in terms of the developmental changes in the efficacy of coupling between receptor occupancy and contraction.