Mechanism of fatty acid effect on myocardial oxygen consumption. A phosphorus NMR study

The calorigenic effect of fatty acids on the intact myocardium was investigated in isolated rat hearts perfused with a phosphate-free bicarbonate buffer. 31P-NMR spectra were accumulated in a Fourier transform high-field spectrometer during titration of the heart with varying concentrations of hexanoate. Oxygen consumption, coronary flow, left ventricular pressure development, heart rate and tissue surface fluorescence of nicotinamide-adenine nucleotides were monitored simultaneously. It was found that hexanoate within a range of 40 to 800 microM increased the reduction of NADH/NAD, increased oxygen consumption and increased the phosphocreatine/inorganic phosphate ratio in a concentration-dependent manner. The results suggest that the fatty acid-induced increase in oxygen consumption is not due to a primary effect on the cellular energy state resulting from a decrease in the P/O ratio or uncoupling of the mitochondria but due to an increase in the thermodynamic driving force.