Open AccessCardiac 3,4-Dihydroxyphenylethylene Glycol (DHPG) and Catecholamine Levels in a Rat Model of Left Ventricular Failure
Author(s) -
L. G. Howes,
G P Hodsman,
C. Maccarrone,
Masahiro Kohzuki,
Colin I. Johnston
Publication year - 1989
Publication title -
journal of cardiovascular pharmacology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.762
H-Index - 100
eISSN - 1533-4023
pISSN - 0160-2446
DOI - 10.1097/00005344-198902000-00027
Subject(s) - medicine , heart failure , catecholamine , epinephrine , ventricle , cardiology , norepinephrine , myocardial infarction , dopamine , cardiac ventricle , endocrinology
Cardiac norepinephrine (NE), dopamine (DA), epinephrine (Epi), and dihydroxyphenylethylene glycol (DHPG) (a major neuronal metabolite of NE) content were measured in rats with cardiac failure resulting from left ventricular myocardial infarction (LVMI) induced by coronary ligation. The ratio of DHPG/NE was significantly higher in both the right ventricle and interventricular septum of rats with LVMI compared with controls, reflecting a tendency for cardiac DHPG content to rise and NE content to fall during cardiac failure. Cardiac DA and Epi content did not significantly differ between rats with LVMI and controls. Elevated DHPG/NE ratios apparently reflected the increase in NE turnover that accompanies elevated sympathetic activity in heart failure more precisely than changes in NE levels or DHPG levels alone. Furthermore, DHPG/NE ratios are not influenced by increases in cardiac weight due to cardiac hypertrophy. The DHPG/NE ratios may be a useful index of cardiac sympathetic activity for future studies of the effects of drug treatment of cardiac failure in this animal model.