Control of intracellular pH in mammalian liver at hypothermia: evidence for a relationship with energy metabolism.

The metabolic status of rat livers during hypothermia has been studied using 31P magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Perfusion with oxygenated buffer at 6-8 degrees C allowed maintenance of ATP, while pH increased to values in the range 7.7-7.9. In organs depleted of ATP by a short (2 h) period of cold ischemia, pH fell to 6.92 +/- 0.10. If these livers were reperfused with hypoxic buffer at hypothermia, two distinct responses were noted. In one group (responders), there was evidence of ATP resynthesis and in these organs pH returned to 7.90 +/- 0.28. In the second group (non-responders), there was no recovery of ATP synthesis and pH remained depressed at 6.97 +/- 0.07. In another group, adenine nucleotides were severely depleted by 24 h of cold ischemia, and in these livers there was again no significant recovery of ATP synthesis during hypoxic reperfusion and pH remained at 7.03 +/- 0.25. These results suggest that (a) there is an apparent relationship between energy metabolism and control of intracellular pH in the hypothermic mammalian liver, and (b) that intracellular pH may shift in liver at hypothermia to values predicted by the alpha-stat hypothesis.