[The involvement of adenosine and adenosine deaminase in experimental myocardial infarct]

By the ligature of the left coronary artery in the rat anesthetized with nembutal (10 mg/100 i.p.) a significant increase of the 5'-nucleotidase activity (Wooton method) was noticed 10 minutes after the left ventricle infarction (from an average value of 1038.5 +/- 187 mU/g tissue to 1537 +/- 225 mU/g fresh tissue). The adenosine desaminase levels spectrophotometrically determined by Denstedt technique, do not appear significantly modified 10 or 30 minutes after the left ventricle infarction. The chromatographically determined adenosine levels, by HPLC technique, decrease from the average value of 11.63 +/- 1.4 micrograms/mg PT to 8.60 +/- 1.0 micrograms/mg PT 30 minutes after infarction. The observed changes are explained by the conditions of hypoxia in the infarcted ventricle which lead to the raise in adenosine levels by activating the 5'-nucleotidase and their depression by a very fast metabolism of the same substance.