Are dihydropyridine receptors downregulated in the ischemic myocardium?

Abstract
Objective: We investigated the effect of ischemia on cardiac dihydropyridine receptors, which correspond to L-type sarcolemmal calcium channels. Methods: Isolated working rat hearts were perfused aerobically for 10 min, and then subjected to 10–60 min of global ischemia. Control hearts were perfused aerobically for 30 min. [3H]PN 200-110 binding was measured in the unfractionated homogenate, in a crude membrane preparation and in a microsomal fraction. Results: In the homogenate obtained from control hearts, the Kd and Bmax averaged 0.23 ± 0.05 nM and 84 + 4 fmol/mg protein, respectively, and ischemia did not produce any significant change in these variables. Similar results were obtained in the crude membrane preparation (Kd = 0.29 ± 0.08 nM, Bmax = 113 ± 7 fmol/mg, yield of binding sites = 98 ± 6%, no significant change in these variables during ischemia). On the contrary, in the microsomal fraction, the Bmax for [3H]PN 200-110 decreased after ischemia (115 ± 15 fmol/mg after 20 min of ischemia vs. 190 ± 34 fmol/mg in the control condition, P < 0.05), without any change in the Kd. In this fraction, the yield for PN 200-110 binding sites was 4.7 ± 0.6% in the control condition and 2.8 ± 0.5% after ischemia (P < 0.05). The yield of other sarcolemmal markers such as [3H]quinuclidinyl benzylate and [3H]ouabain binding sites was not reduced in the microsomal fraction obtained from ischemic hearts. Conclusions: The total number of cardiac dihydropyridine binding sites was not downregulated during ischemia, although their distribution after tissue fractionation was slightly modified, possibly reflecting receptor redistribution between different subcellular pools.

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