Time course of aerobic recovery after contraction of rabbit papillary muscle

The time course of oxygen uptake after isometric twitch contractions of isolated rabbit papillary muscles was determined at 20 degrees C by continuous polarographic measurement of the partial pressure of oxygen in a 219-microliters glass chamber in which the fluid circulated rapidly. The response time of the oxygen-measuring system was characterized by a delay of 1.1 s and a time constant of 2.1 s after that delay. Depending on the stimulation frequency (0.125-1.0 Hz) the total amount of oxygen uptake for 120 twitches varied from 5.3 to 32.7 nmol/mg dry wt, and the steady-state oxygen consumption rate varied from 0.4 to 8.5 nmol X min-1 X mg dry wt-1. On the basis of a diffusion model we eliminated the effect of oxygen storage on the measured time course of oxygen consumption to determine the mitochondrial kinetics. We found a time constant of an average 19-22 s of mitochondrial off kinetics. By use of this time constant for the change in oxygen consumption rate after contraction, it can be estimated that 9-10% of the oxygen required to restore ATP levels is already taken up by the mitochondria during the twitch.