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Vol. 293, Issue 2, 599-606, May 2000


Effects of Cyclopentyladenosine on Isoproterenol Response in Adult and Senescent Cardiac Tissue from Fischer 344 Rats1

Chris L. Kapicka , Stephen C. Montamat , Ramagopal V. Mudumbi , Shelley M. Jacks , Richard D. Olson and Robert E. Vestal

Department of Biology, Northwest Nazarene University, Nampa, Idaho (C.L.K.); Clinical Pharmacology and Gerontology Research Unit, Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Boise, Idaho (S.C.M., R.V.M., S.M.J., R.D.O., R.E.V.); Mountain States Medical Research Institute, Boise, Idaho (C.L.K., S.C.M., R.V.M., R.D.O., R.E.V.); and Departments of Medicine and Pharmacology, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, Washington (S.M.J., R.D.O., R.E.V.)

    Abstract
Top
Abstract
Introduction
Materials and Methods
Results
Discussion
References

To characterize age-related changes in beta -adrenergic responsiveness and to test the hypothesis that an increase in the effects of adenosine contribute to impaired beta -adrenergic responsiveness, Fischer 344 rat right atria (RA), left atria (LA), and left ventricular trabeculae carnae were exposed to the beta -receptor agonist isoproterenol (ISO), followed by four doses of the selective adenosine A1 receptor agonist cyclopentyladenosine (CPA). Spontaneous contractile rates of adult RA were inhibited more than senescent RA by CPA. Contractility (+dF/dt) of adult LA was reduced more than senescent LA by CPA. Left trabeculae carnae tissue responded weakly to CPA, but senescent tissue was less responsive than adult tissue. Senescent atrial A1 receptor density was 56% greater than in adult tissue, whereas the density in senescent ventricles was 39% lower than in adult tissue. No significant difference in antagonist affinities (Kd) of A1 receptor was observed between adult and senescent atria. In addition, agonist competition curves indicated a significant increase in senescent atrial and a decrease in senescent ventricular tissue in the affinity of agonist for high-affinity A1 receptors with no difference in dissociation constant (Ki). No significant age-related differences in atrial or ventricular tissues occurred in either the antagonist affinity (Kd) or density (Bmax) of the beta -adrenergic receptors. CPA was found to inhibit ISO-stimulated adenylate cyclase activity more in senescent than in adult atrial and ventricular membrane preparations. We conclude that age-related differences in functional response to ISO and CPA, A1 receptor density, and ISO-stimulated adenylate cyclase activity differ in atrial and ventricular myocardium.

    Introduction
Top
Abstract
Introduction
Materials and Methods
Results
Discussion
References

Aging is associated with known changes that occur in the cardiovascular system of mammalian species. A decrease in beta -adrenergic-mediated inotropic, chronotropic, and vasodilating cardiovascular responses occurs with aging in both experimental animals and humans. Experimental animals have shown age-related changes in calcium handling and contractile function (Lakatta and Yin, 1982). Heart rate response to infused isoproterenol (ISO) is diminished in elderly human subjects (Vestal et al., 1979). Developed tension in isolated cardiac tissue from rats exposed to ISO is reduced with age (Guarnieri et al., 1980), and the vasodilatory effect of ISO on peripheral veins is attenuated in older human subjects (Pan et al., 1986).

Adenosine, an endogenous nucleoside that is formed by the metabolism of its corresponding nucleotides (ATP and ADP), has modulatory effects on beta -adrenergic function. The adenosine response is mediated by two extracellular receptors designated A1 and A2, which are linked to adenylate cyclase (AC) activity and the production of cAMP (van Calker et al., 1979; Londos et al., 1980). Adenosine acts in a cardioprotective manner by directly activating potassium channels in atria and the atrioventricular and sinus nodes (Yatani et al., 1988; Kirsch et al., 1990). Adenosine also can inhibit beta -adrenergic-stimulated AC (Romano and Dobson, 1996).

During stress or exercise, cardiac performance is enhanced due to release of catecholamines that interact with beta -adrenoceptor to activate AC. This results in an increase in cAMP and phosphorylation of cardiac proteins catalyzed by cAMP-dependent protein kinase. By way of receptor-coupled inhibitory G-protein activation, adenosine has inhibitory effects on beta -adrenergic receptor stimulation. Adenosine analogs impair both chronotropic and inotropic responses to beta -adrenergic stimulation in isolated cardiac preparations from animals (Dobson et al., 1986; Montamat et al., 1996). Dobson et al. (1990, 1993) have shown that coronary adenosine release and cardiac tissue interstitial adenosine concentration are enhanced in aged myocardium compared with young adult heart, and that adenosine antagonists partially correct the impairment of myocardial contractile response to catecholamines. These studies suggest that adenosine modulation of beta -adrenergic function may account for decreased contractile responses to catecholamines in aged cardiac tissues.

To further characterize age-related changes in beta -adrenergic responsiveness related to adenosine modulation and to test the hypothesis that an increase in the effects of adenosine contribute to impaired beta -adrenergic responsiveness, isolated cardiac tissues from young adult and senescent Fischer 344 (F344) rats were stimulated with ISO followed by administration of cyclopentyladenosine (CPA), a selective A1 receptor agonist. To characterize age-related changes in the adenosine A1 and beta -adrenergic receptors, radioligand receptor-binding studies were conducted. In addition, to assess the influence of aging on adenosine-mediated receptor-effector coupling, AC activity was measured in crude atrial and ventricular membranes obtained from adult and senescent F344 rats, an established model for aging research (Hazzard et al. 1992).

    Materials and Methods
Top
Abstract
Introduction
Materials and Methods
Results
Discussion
References

Animals. F344 rats aged 6 to 8 months (adult) and 23 to 24 months (senescent) were obtained from Harlan Industries (Indianapolis, IN) under contract with the National Institute on Aging. The senescent animals were older than the age at which 50% mortality occurs (F344 rats median life span is 22 to 23 months according to the National Research Council, 1981). On arrival, rats were examined and housed in groups of two to four in 18- × 10-in. clear polycarbonate cages. All animals were maintained on Wayne's Lab Blox F-4 ad libitum with 12-h light/dark cycle. Rats were used within 4 weeks of their arrival and after 1 week of observation. Animals that exhibited signs and symptoms of illness were not used in the study. The animals were cared for in accordance to the guidelines outlined in the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals, and the protocol was approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee. On the day of study, animals were euthanized by decapitation, hearts were quickly removed, and the left atrium (LA), right atrium (RA), and left trabeculae carnae (LTC) were dissected from each heart.

Functional Studies. The isolated cardiac tissues were attached to an isometric force transducer (Kulite BG25) and suspended in a 15-ml muscle bath containing Krebs-bicarbonate buffer (pH 7.4) maintained at 30°C. The buffer consisted of the following components: 127 mM NaCl, 2.3 mM KCl, 2.5 mM CaCl2 (1 mM for LTC), 24 mM NaHCO3, 1.3 mM KH2PO4, 0.6 mM MgSO4, and 5.5 mM glucose. The tissue in the bath was continuously bubbled with 95% O2, 5% CO2. The muscles were stabilized over a period of 2 h before any measurements were recorded.

The RA were allowed to beat spontaneously at their own rate. The LA and LTC were stimulated electrically via platinum electrodes by 3-ms square pulses at a voltage 20% higher than the threshold strength delivered to the tissue at the rate of 30 contractions/min. Before beginning the protocol, LTCs were gradually stretched until a maximal contractile force was obtained (LMAX). They then were allowed to stabilize for another 45 min. Adenosine deaminase (ADA; 3 U/ml; Boehringer-Mannheim, Indianapolis, IN) was added during the last 15 min of the stabilization period. This concentration of ADA had no effect on the measured parameters (Table 1). ADA was purified by dialysis in phosphate buffer at pH 7.0 for 12 to 16 h before use (Dobson, 1983), and ADA activity was quantified by spectrophotometric determination (Bergmeyer, 1983). Adult heart tissues were exposed to the beta -adrenoceptor agonist, ISO (10-8 M). To obtain a similar increase in contractility, senescent cardiac tissues were exposed to a higher dose of ISO (10-7 M). At maximal contraction, a cumulative concentration response curve to CPA was obtained. CPA was dissolved in 1.0 mM HCl to enhance solubility, and appropriate vehicle control experiments were preformed.

                              
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TABLE 1
Basal and ISO responses

Data shown are mean ± S.E. in the absence and presence of ADA and the maximal ISO response in the presence of ADA.

Contractile rate was measured for RA. Contractility parameters examined in the LA and LTC tissues included 1) contractility of the cardiac tissue as a measure of maximal rate of force development (+dF/dt); 2) 90% relaxation time (90% RT), the time it takes the cardiac muscle to relax to 90% of the point of maximum contraction, as an index of cardiac relaxation; and 3) time to peak force (TTPF). All data were analyzed online by a Buxco 4-Channel Data Logger System (Buxco Electronics, Troy, NY) interfaced to an IBM-compatible computer.

Antagonist Binding. Radioligand-binding experiments were conducted as previously described (Musser et al., 1993). Atrial and ventricular tissue from adult and senescent male F344 rats were obtained fresh and placed in 25 mM imidazole buffer, pH 7.4, containing 0.32 M sucrose, 1 mM NaEDTA, 10 µM phenylmethlsulfonyl fluoride (PMSF), 0.7 µg/ml pepstatin, and 0.5 µg/ml leupeptin (pepstatin and leupetin from Boehringer-Mannheim). The tissue was homogenized for 15 s with a Polytron homogenizer with a setting of 6. The homogenate was centrifuged at 1000g for 10 min. The supernatant was filtered through gauze and diluted with an equal volume with 25 mM imidazole buffer containing 1 mM NaEDTA, 10 µM PMSF, 0.7 µg/ml pepstatin, and 0.5 µg/ml leupeptin. The supernatant was centrifuged at 48,000g for 30 min and the pellet was used immediately for the binding studies.

For saturation isotherm studies, the pellet was resuspended in 25 mM imidazole buffer, pH 7.4, containing 5 mM MgCl2 to a final protein concentration of 0.1 to 0.8 mg/ml. To remove endogenous adenosine, the crude homogenate was preincubated for 30 min at room temperature with ADA (5 U/ml). The selective A1 receptor antagonist 1,3-[3H]dipropyl-8-cyclopentylxanthine ([3H]DPCPX; Amersham, Arlington Heights, IL) at concentrations between 0.2 and 10 nM was used to construct saturation isotherms. Nonspecific binding was defined as that occurring in the presence of 3 mM theophylline. The reaction mixture incubated for 90 min at 22°C before being stopped by vacuum filtration over GF/C filters with a Brandel Cell Harvester. Filters were presoaked in 0.5% polyethyleneimine to reduce nonspecific binding. The filters were cut, soaked in scintillation cocktail, and counted with a liquid scintillation counter.

Competition experiments were performed in the presence of the antagonist radioligand [3H]DPCPX at a concentration approximately equal to its Kd and varying concentrations of the A1 agonist CPA. Nonspecific binding was defined as that occurring in the presence of 3 mM theophylline.

For beta -adrenergic receptor studies, the pellet was resuspended in 25 mM imidazole buffer, pH 7.4, containing 5 mM MgCl2 to a final protein concentration of 100 µg/ml. The reconstituted pellet was incubated with 0.12 mg/ml BSA before the reaction. The nonselective antagonist beta -adrenoceptor antagonist (-)-3-[125I]iodocyanopindolol ([125I]CYP; Amersham) was used at concentration of 3 pM to 3 nM to construct saturation isotherms. The reactants were incubated for 90 min at 37°C before vacuum filtration. Nonspecific binding was defined as that occurring in the presence of 1 µM propranolol. The filters were cut and counted with a gamma counter. Protein concentrations were determined by the method of Bradford (1976). An iterative nonlinear curve fitting program ReceptorFit Saturation Two-Site (Lundon Software, Inc., Chagrin Falls, OH) was used to determine the Kd and Bmax for each isotherm.

AC Inhibition. Adult and senescent F344 rats were sacrificed, the hearts rapidly removed, perfused retrograde with 20 ml of ice-cold normal saline to remove blood, and the atria carefully separated from the ventricular tissue. A single heart was used for each assay of AC activity in ventricle and three (senescent) or four (adult) hearts were pooled for determination of atrial AC activity.

Tissue was gently homogenized in ice-cold 10 mM imidazole buffer containing 0.27 M sucrose, 1 mM dithiothreitol, 0.1 mM benzamidine, 10 mM disodium EDTA, 10 µM PMSF, and 0.5 µg/ml leupeptin. The homogenate was centrifuged at 750g for 10 min, the supernatant filtered through four layers of moist gauze, centrifuged at 45,000g for 20 min, and the pellet resuspended in 4 ml of the same buffer but without sucrose.

After removal of samples for protein determination, the resuspended pellet was incubated at room temperature for 30 min with ADA (7.5 U/ml) and 0.001% SDS. AC activity was determined in duplicate 50-µl aliquots of homogenate in a total volume of 150 µl of 50 mM imidazole buffer containing 100 mM NaCl, 200 µM papaverine, 100 µM GTP, 150 µM dATP, 150 µM cAMP, 0.1 mg/ml bacitracin, 100 µM dithiothreitol, 1 µM CaCl2, 5.5 mM KCl, 3 mM MgCl2, 43 U/ml creatine phosphokinase, 0.75 mg/ml creatine phosphate, and 0.5 × 106 cpm [32P]ATP. To eliminate the effect of adenosine produced during the reaction, cardiac membranes were preincubated with ADA (7.5 U/ml) and [alpha -32P]ATP was used as the substrate. The production of [32P]cAMP with recoveries based on [3H]cAMP content was determined as described by Halvorson and Nathanson (1984). Samples were purified and separation of cAMP was accomplished by using the modified method of Salomon (1979). All chemicals and reagents not specified were obtained from Sigma Chemical Co. (St. Louis, MO) and were of best analytical grade available.

Data Analysis. The results of the isolated atrial and ventricular functional and AC studies were analyzed statistically by either one- or two-way ANOVA as appropriate. The Student-Newman-Keuls method for multiple mean comparison was used for post hoc analysis. Results are expressed as mean ± S.E. unless otherwise noted. Statistical comparisons of the resulting receptor binding studies between young and senescent groups were made with the unpaired Student's t test.

    Results
Top
Abstract
Introduction
Materials and Methods
Results
Discussion
References

Isolated Cardiac Function Studies. The baseline spontaneous contraction rate in senescent RA was significantly lower than in adult RA (P < .01). Addition of ISO significantly increased the spontaneous contraction rate in RA from both adult and senescent rats. Although the maximal response to ISO was less in senescent than in adult RA (Table 1), the difference was not significant. Furthermore, the change from basal contraction rate was similar in both groups (Fig. 1). Cumulative administration of CPA to spontaneously beating RA pretreated with ISO resulted in a concentration-dependent decrease in contractile rate (Fig. 1). The effects of CPA on RA were calculated as differences between the drug and baseline responses. Although CPA inhibited the increase in contraction rate induced by ISO in both age groups, there was a significant interaction between age and concentration of CPA (P < .05). This indicates that the overall rate of change in the contraction rate in response to inhibition by CPA was greater in adult than in senescent preparations.


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Fig. 1.   Effect of CPA on ISO-stimulated contraction rate response in RA from adult (n = 9) and senescent (n = 8) F344 rats. CPA was administered cumulatively to derive a concentration-response relationship after pretreatment with ISO. CPA vehicle had no significant effect on either adult or senescent tissue. Values are calculated as the difference between the treatment and baseline response. See Table 1 for basal values. ADA was present at a concentration of 3 U/ml. Although CPA inhibited the increase in contraction rate induced by ISO in both age groups, there was a significant interaction between age and concentration of CPA (P < .05). This indicates that the rate of change of response to inhibition by CPA was greater in adult than in senescent preparations.

Baseline contractility (+dF/dt) in senescent LA was significantly lower than in adult LA (Table 1; P < .005). Addition of ISO significantly increased +dF/dt in both adult and senescent LA (Table 1). The absolute changes in contractile rate (98 versus 85.5 beats/min) and +dF/dt (17.6 versus 19.7 g/s) are similar between adult and senescent hearts. Cumulative addition of CPA caused concentration-dependent inhibition of ISO-stimulated contractility in both adult and senescent LA (Fig. 2). The inhibitory response after ISO was significantly greater in adult LA (P < .001) than senescent LA. Basal 90% RT was not different between adult and senescent LA (P = 0.25) and addition of ISO had no effect on 90% RT (Table 1). Inhibition of the relaxation time response to ISO by CPA (expressed as a percentage of the ISO response; Fig. 3) tended to be greater in senescent than in adult LA. Although basal TTPF in senescent LA was significantly higher than in adult LA (Table 1), ISO and CPA did not alter basal TTPF responses in both adult and senescent LA (data not shown). LTCs had a weak negative inotropic response to CPA. The weak CPA-induced inhibitory response was significantly greater in adult F344 (P < .001) than in senescent LTC (data not shown).


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Fig. 2.   Effect of CPA on contractility (+dF/dt) in electrically driven isolated LA from adult (n = 8) and senescent (n = 9) F344 rats. CPA was administered cumulatively to derive a concentration-response relationship. CPA vehicle had no significant effect on either adult or senescent tissue. Values are calculated as the difference between the drug and baseline response. See Table 1 for basal values. ADA was present at a concentration of 3 U/ml. Adult LA contractility was inhibited more by CPA in senescent than in adult LA (P < .001). *, significant difference between adult and senescent LA at the last two concentrations of CPA (P < .05).


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Fig. 3.   RT (90%) in electrically driven isolated LA from adult (n = 6) and senescent (n = 9) F344. Response is shown as a percentage of the ISO response. See Table 1 for basal and ISO responses. CPA vehicle had no significant effect on either adult or senescent tissue. ADA was present at a concentration of 3 U/ml. Inhibition of the relaxation time response to ISO by CPA (expressed as a percentage of the ISO response) tended to be greater in senescent than in adult LA.

A1 Receptor Binding Characteristics. [3H]DPCPX saturation-binding isotherms were constructed to characterize A1 receptor binding in crude adult and senescent F344 atrial and ventricular membrane preparations. Antagonist binding was saturable and concentration dependent. Scatchard plots of the data were linear, suggesting a single homogenous class of binding sites. In atria there was a significant age-dependent increase (55.5%) in receptor density (B max) from 22.5 to 35.1 fmol/mg protein (P < .05) with no significant change in the receptor affinity (Kd) (Table 2). In contrast, the ventricular data displayed an opposite change with a 38.5% decrease in receptor density (B max) from 9.2 fmol/mg protein in the young adult to 5.6 fmol/mg protein in the senescent rat (P < .005) with no significant change in the receptor affinity (Kd) (Table 2).

                              
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TABLE 2
Age-related comparison of antagonist receptor-binding characteristics in F344 rat atria and ventricles

Values are mean ± S.E. (n = 4 and 6 for atrial and ventricular adenosine A1-receptor studies, respectively; n = 6 for atrial and ventricular beta -adrenoceptor studies).

beta -Adrenergic Receptor-Binding Characteristics. To investigate the beta -adrenergic receptor characteristics of the young adult and senescent rat atria and ventricles, saturation-binding isotherms were constructed with the antagonist [125I]CYP. Neither atrial nor ventricular data showed any changes in the Bmax or Kd with age (Table 2).

In competition experiments (Table 3), a significant increase (P < .05) in the affinity of agonist was observed for the high-affinity A1 receptors in senescent atrial tissue, whereas in senescent ventricular tissue the high-affinity A1 receptors significantly decreased (P < .05). However, there was no significant change in dissociation constant (Ki) in both atria and ventricular tissues. In addition, a significant improvement of fit with a two-site model (P < .05) was seen in senescent atrial and adult ventricular tissues.

                              
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TABLE 3
CPA inhibition of the specific binding of [3H]DPCPX in semipurified atrial and ventricular membrane preparations from 6- and 24-month-old F344 rats

Inhibition of AC Activity. Basal AC activity was significantly reduced (P < .05) in senescent atria (49%) and ventricles (32%) compared with adult myocardial tissue (Table 4). A significant reduction with age in stimulation of AC activity by ISO, forskolin, and guanosine-5'-(beta ,gamma -imido)- triphosphate [Gpp(NH)p] was observed in both atria and ventricles (Table 4). The ability of Gpp(NH)p to stimulate AC also was significantly reduced in senescent atria and ventricles. Forskolin (a direct activator of AC catalytic subunit) and Gpp(NH)p exhibited significantly greater AC activity in ventricles than in atria (Table 4).

                              
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TABLE 4
Basal and stimulated AC activity in atria and ventricular membranes from adult and senescent F344 rats

Data shown are mean ± S.E. (n = 4-8).

Additional experiments were performed to investigate the effects of CPA and a positive control, the muscarinic receptor agonist carbachol (CB), on ISO-stimulated AC activity. Expressed as a change from basal levels of activity, the effects of these two inhibitors increased with concentration in both adult and senescent atria and ventricles (Figs. 4 and 5). When the effect of ISO is taken into account (data not shown), at a physiological concentration of ISO (0.1 µM) CPA was more potent to inhibit ISO-stimulated AC activity in senescent atrial tissue than in adult atrial tissue (P < .05). At 1.0 µM ISO, there was a significant interaction of age and treatment (P = 0.04), indicating a difference in CPA effect over the concentration range tested. At the highest ISO concentration used (10 µM), there was no significant effect of age and no significant difference in the effect of CPA between adult and senescent tissue. A significant age and treatment interaction at 1.0 µM ISO was observed in ventricles (P < .01), and there was a significant treatment effect at 0.1 and 10 µM ISO (P < .05). There was no significant effect of age and no age and treatment interaction at these two concentrations of ISO. These results indicate that the age-related effect of CPA on ISO-stimulated AC activity depends on the concentration of ISO and on whether the target tissue is atrial or ventricular.


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Fig. 4.   Inhibition of ISO-stimulated AC activity by CPA and CB in adult and senescent F344 rat atria. Activity was calculated as the absolute change from basal AC activity and is expressed as mean ± S.E. (n = 8). The ISO-stimulated AC activity was less in senescent atria than in adult atria (P < .05). CPA inhibited ISO-induced AC activity in both age groups (P < .05).


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Fig. 5.   Inhibition of ISO-stimulated AC activity by CPA and CB in adult and senescent F344 rat ventricles. Activity was calculated as the absolute change from basal AC activity and is expressed as mean ± S.E. (n = 8). The ISO-stimulated AC activity was less in senescent ventricles than in adult ventricles (P < .05). CPA inhibited ISO-induced AC activity in both age groups (P < .05).

    Discussion
Top
Abstract
Introduction
Materials and Methods
Results
Discussion
References

Recently, several studies have examined the reduced responsiveness of aged myocardium in relation to adenosine (Dobson et al., 1990; Mudumbi et al., 1995; Montamat et al., 1996; Romano et al., 1996; Gao et al., 1997). The involvement of adenosine in this process is supported by the observation that the reduced responsiveness of adenosine receptor stimulation in aged heart is not observed when theophylline, an adenosine antagonist, is present (Londos et al., 1978; Dobson, 1983).

Earlier studies have investigated the effects of adenosine after ISO stimulation on isolated perfused aged hearts (Dobson et al., 1990). Although these studies show age-related alterations due to adenosine, they do not examine the effects of adenosine on isolated cardiac muscle tissues. In contrast, our functional studies examine the effects of CPA, a selective A1 adenosine receptor agonist, on individual heart tissues. The results demonstrate age differences in the functional response to CPA, in the number of A1 receptors, and in AC activity when beta -adrenoceptors have been activated by ISO. This is particularly noteworthy in the absence of apparent age-dependent down-regulation of beta -adrenergic receptors as indicated by the absence of significant changes in ISO-stimulated contractile rate response and +dF/dt, as well as Bmax.

The contribution of the LA contraction to diastolic ventricular filling becomes greater as humans age (Miyatake et al., 1984; Sartori et al., 1987). Modulators such as adenosine may be important in regulating cardiac function with age. LA contractility (+dF/dt) and RA contraction rate of tissue from senescent F344 rats are less responsive to inhibition by CPA than that obtained from young animals. In contrast, our binding studies indicate an increase in the density of A1 receptors in atria with age, although there is no significant change in Kd. Competition-binding experiments indicate that as the atria age, there is a shift from single-site binding to two-site binding with 74% of the sites being characterized as high-affinity binding sites with a lower Ki (8.93 to 1.71 nM). Due to an increased 5' nucleotidase activity in the senescent heart (De Tata et al., 1985), an increased adenosine production in the senescent heart (Dobson et al., 1990; Dobson and Fenton, 1993), and increased atrial A1 receptors with age, an increase in the response to adenosine within the cell might be expected. Yet, examining receptor function, we found a decrease in basal AC activity as well as forskolin- and Gpp(NH)p-stimulated AC activity, indicating a decline in receptor-effector coupling with age.

Our functional experimental results (contraction rate, contractility, and 90% RT) seem to indicate that even with increased adenosine in the atrial tissue as reported by others (Dobson et al. 1990; Dobson and Fenton, 1993), as well as increased receptor density and increased specific binding, there appears to be a defect either in signal transduction in the cell membrane or in one or more subsequent steps in the effector pathway. The latter could involve the interaction of the receptor with its GTP-binding protein (G protein) or the interaction of the G-protein subunit and AC itself, resulting in decreased AC activity and functional response. The 90% RT of adult LA was a higher percentage of their ISO response than that of senescent LA. This effect may be due to changes in the calcium sequestration with aged muscle cells (Lakkata, 1987).

Miyamoto et al. (1994) and more recently by Cai et al. (1997) have investigated G-protein coupling in the heart as it relates to aging. Studying beta -adrenoceptor/G-protein coupling, Miyamoto et al. (1994) found in aged Wistar rat ventricle that there was a decrease in three Gsalpha subunits with no change in Gialpha , Gqalpha , Goalpha , or Gcommonbeta . They also found a corresponding decrease in Gsalpha mRNA. This suggests a change in the cardiac excitation and contraction coupling after beta -adrenoceptor stimulation, which are mediated in part by Gsalpha . Cai et al. (1997) also investigated the G proteins associated with adenosine receptors. A1 receptors have been shown to couple to Gi1, Gi2, Gi3, and Go in reconstituted systems (Munshi et al., 1991; Jocker et al., 1994; Figler et al., 1996). Using F344 rats, Cai et al. (1997) found a decrease in precoupling to Gi3 and Go (activation in the absence of agonist activation) as well as a decrease in agonist-stimulated protein coupling of A1 receptors to Gi3 and Go. This loss of A1 receptor function appears to be associated with a receptor/G-protein uncoupling in aged ventricles.

Functionally, adenosine has much smaller effects in ventricular tissue than in atrial tissue. In this study, the effect of CPA on LTC was small, but at the same dose the response of adult tissue was significantly greater than that of senescent tissue. Thus, the response to receptor stimulation with the A1 receptor agonist CPA decreased with age. This may be due at least in part to age differences in receptor characteristics. Both the number of A1 receptors and the antagonist Kd decreased significantly with age. Agonist competition experiments in ventricles indicate a predominance (76.6%) of high-affinity receptors, whereas there was a nearly equal distribution of high- and low-affinity sites (56.1 and 43.9%, respectively) in the senescent animals.

Gao et al. (1997) found that there was no difference in basal AC activity in crude cardiac ventricular membranes from 1-, 6-, and 24-month F344 rats. Our results, however, show that basal AC activity in ventricular tissue decreased significantly with age (Table 4). One possible reason for this disparity is that we used fresh tissue for our assay, whereas Gao et al. (1997) used tissue that had been frozen. ISO-stimulated and forskolin-stimulated ventricular AC activity decreased with age, confirming the findings by others (Dobson et al., 1990; Gao et al., 1997). The experiments with Gpp(NH)p-stimulated AC activity also indicate a decreased AC activity in ventricular tissue with age. Our data confirm previous studies with beta -adrenergic antagonists that showed no significant changes in beta -adrenergic receptor characteristics with increasing age (Newman et al., 1989, Dobson et al., 1990; Scarpace, 1990; Shu and Scarpace, 1994). Shu and Scarpace (1994) also found that the alpha -subunits of Gs and Gi remain unchanged with age in F344 rats, but there is a decrease in forskolin-stimulated AC activity with a corresponding decrease in forskolin-binding sites with age (sensitivity was unchanged). Our results indicate that the decreased functional response in ventricular tissue may be due to a decreased receptor population. The basal activity of AC was higher in ventricles than atria. In addition, we found that beta -adrenergic stimulated AC activity also was reduced in atrial tissue (Table 4). Cardiac sensitivity to beta -adrenergic stimulation decreased significantly with age in atrial and ventricular tissues. Although there were changes in A1 receptor density, AC activity was less in senescent than adult tissue. These changes may be due to changes in receptor/G-protein coupling.

In summary, the age-related differences in functional responses to ISO and CPA, A1 receptor density, and ISO-stimulated AC activity differ in atrial and ventricular myocardium. If similar tissue-specific differences exist in the hearts of other species including humans, they will influence and thus complicate the interpretation of the responses to endogenous adenosine and to exogenous adenosine receptor agonists and antagonists.

    Acknowledgments

We thank Beth Musser, Donna McDonald, Jason Sandidge, and Amber Overton for excellent technical assistance.

    Footnotes

Accepted for publication January 23, 2000.

Received for publication September 8, 1999.

1 This study was supported by the Department of Veterans Affairs (Office of Research and Development, Medical Research Service), National Institutes of Health Grants AG00525 and AG09559, Northwest Nazarene College, and the Mountain States Medical Research Institute.

Send reprint requests to: Robert E. Vestal, M.D., Research Service (151), VA Medical Center, 500 W. Fort St., Boise, ID 83702. E-mail: rvestal{at}micron.net

    Abbreviations

ISO, isoproterenol; AC, adenylate cyclase; CPA, cyclopentyladenosine; LA, left atria; RA, right atria; LTC, left ventricular trabeculae carnae; ADA, adenosine deaminase; RT, relaxation time; TTPF, time to peak force; PMSF, phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride; [125I]CYP, (-)-3-[125I]iodocyanopindolol; [3H]DPCPX, 1,3-[3H]dipropyl-8-cyclopentylxanthine; Gpp(NH)p, guanosine-5'-(beta ,gamma -imido)triphosphate; CB, carbochol.

    References
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Abstract
Introduction
Materials and Methods
Results
Discussion
References


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