Effect of norepinephrine on myocardial intracellular hydrogen ion concentration

The effect of norepinephrine (NE) on the intracellular hydrogen ion concentration [H+]i of isolated rat hearts perfused with a modified Krebs-Henseleit solution (SHS) was determined. The [H+]i was calculated with the [14C]-dimethyloxazolidinedione method. Respiratory or metabolic acidosis was produced by equilibrating the KHS with 20% C02 or decreasing the [HC03-] of the KHS, respectively. Three types of experiments were carried out: 1) beta blockade--MJ 1999 (Sotalol) was added to the KHS; 2) control--no pharmacological treatment; and 3) NE-norepinephrine was added to the KHS. The effective CO2 buffer values (delta[HC03-]i/deltapHi) during respiratory acidosis were: beta blockade, 11; control, 35; and NE, 84. The production of metabolic acidosis resulted in the following [H+]i changes: beta blockade, 52 mM; control, 60 nM; and NE 7 nM. These results suggest that NE markedly attenuates the changes in [H+]i accompanying respiratory and metabolic acidosis and may account in part for previous observations that the effective C02 buffer value of cardiac muscle in vivo is greater than that in vitro.