Detection of phosphodiester resonances in the perfused heart from vertebrate ectotherms with nuclear magnetic resonance.

In vivo 31P NMR has been used to characterize the phosphorylated compounds present in the heart from vertebrate ectotherms. The perfused hearts from all animals experimented showed prominent resonances between the inorganic phosphate and phosphocreatine peaks. The pattern of these compounds was found to be different in the heart of the different species. As shown by 31P and proton NMR of perchloric extracts, the chemical shift of some of the compounds was characteristic of glycerophosphorylcholine, glycerophosphorylinositol, phosphorylcholine, phosphorylserine, phosphorylethanolamine and phosphoenolpyruvate. The non-identified resonances were found to be phosphodiesters, as demonstrated by alkaline phosphatase hydrolysis. The physiological significance of these high levels of phosphodiesters in the heart from vertebrate ectotherms is discussed.