Noradrenaline turnover after left coronary artery ligation in rat heart.

The levels and the turnover of noradrenaline were measured in the left and right ventricles following left coronary artery ligation for 2 h in untreated, adrenalectomized or hexamethonium-treated rats. Noradrenaline in the left ventricles was decreased by ligation and unaffected in the right ventricles, whether of untreated, adrenalectomized or hexamethonium-treated animals. Turnover in the left ventricles, as estimated by the decrease of noradrenaline under dopamine beta-hydroxylase inhibition with bis-(4-methyl-1-homo-piperazinyl-thiocarbonyl)-disulfide (FLA-63), was unaffected by ligation whether in untreated, adrenalectomized, or hexamethonium-treated rats. Ligation accelerated turnover in the right ventricles of untreated rats or attenuated it in adrenalectomized rats and caused no changes in hexamethonium-treated rats. These results suggest that noradrenaline turnover in ischemic myocardium is not affected by regional ischemia and that such ischemia might accelerate turnover in the non-ischemic area, probably as a result of increased activity of sympatho-adrenal reflexes.