Nuclear size and DNA content in rat cardiac myocytes during growth, maturation and aging

Changes in nuclear volume and DNA content were examined in cardiac myocytes isolated from 21-day-old (weanling, W), 3-month-old (adult, A), and 2-year-old (old, O) rats to document normal parameters for nuclear growth and DNA content. Nuclear volume was calculated from direct measurements of isolated myocyte nuclear profiles and DNA content was measured from DAPI-stained nuclei using an image analysis microdensitometry system. Myocyte volume was measured with a Coulter Channelyzer system. Nuclear volume increased 79% from W to A as a result of an increase in nuclear length. Nuclear width was unchanged. Nuclear volume was not changed from A to O. Approximately 98% of the left ventricular myocytes from all three rat groups contained a diploid DNA content with the remainder of nuclei being tetraploid. The degree of polyploidy increased slightly, but significantly, in right ventricular myocytes from O. Due to the substantially greater increase in myocyte volume relative to nuclear volume, nuclear volume percentage decreased from 3.65 +/- 0.28 to 1.64 +/- 0.13 from W to A but was unchanged from A to O. To summarize: (1) nuclear volume of rat cardiac myocytes increases significantly during normal physiological growth (W to A) but the rate of nuclear growth is less than that of cell volume; (2) the increase in nuclear size from W to A is not due to an increase in DNA content; (3) cardiac myocytes from Sprague-Dawley rats are predominantly diploid; and (4) there is little change in DNA content of cardiac myocytes from rats of this strain during growth, maturation and aging.