Cyclic nucleotides and changes in protein kinase activity ratio in the ischemic and nonischemic myocardium

Following coronary artery ligation (CAL), levels of cAMP and the activity ratio of cAMP-dependent protein kinase, of phosphorylase kinase, and of phosphorylase are significantly elevated in both ischemic and nonischemic areas of the canine left ventricle. The aerobic level of cAMP was found to be 0.4 to 0.6 pmol/mg myocardium only after a precooled clamp or a cryobiopsy device was employed to guarantee tissue freezing in situ. Maximal changes in response to ischemia are observed within 2 min in both parts of the heart. Twenty minutes after the onset of ischemia, different responses have been found in the nonischemic and ischemic tissue. Whereas the levels of cAMP and the activity ratio of protein kinase, of phosphorylase kinase, and of phosphorylase returned to aerobic values in the nonischemic area, these parameters remained elevated in the ischemic area. The changes in the levels of myocardial cAMP and in the cAMP-dependent protein kinase activity ratio following CAL could be prevented by propranolol.