Factors influencing mouse heart creatine kinase efflux and ultrastructure.

An isolated mouse heart model has been developed to study the extracellular factors which influence the loss of myocardial enzymes. When added to a tris-HCl buffer/salt mixture at 25 degrees C, glucose, phosphate ion, increased osmolarity, oxygen exclusion and calcium reduced enzyme leakage. Of these, calcium effects on enzyme leakage and ultrastructure were assessed in detail. Concentrations less than or equal to 10(-4) M had no significant effect on enzyme efflux over a 5 hour period. At higher concentrations (10(-3) and 10(-2) M Ca2+), creatine kinase (CK) efflux was significantly altered in a time dependent fashion. In the first hour, 10(-3) and 10(-2) M Ca2+ reduced CK leakage to 33% and 25% of the control values, respectively; and to about 50% of the control values in the second and third hours. This protective effect was lost between the third and fifth hours, when an enzyme efflux 80% greater than control was observed. These studies indicated that CK leakage from mouse heart can be retarded for up to 3 hours by appropriate Ca2+ concentrations. The initial ultrastructural change, in the absence of Ca2+, was a dilatation of the transverse tubules, which gradually enlarged by coalescence. This was followed by a gradual disintegration and ultimate condensation of the myofibrils leaving altered mitochondria floating freely in an apparently intact sarcolemmal bag. These changes appeared to be delayed by Ca2+ for 3 hours, after which no protective effect was evident. Thus, CK leakage is a measure of myocardial autolysis, and numerous simple measures can retard this autolysis for several hours. This raises the possibility of prolonging the preservation of the normal heart in vitro.