Altered sensitivity of chronic diabetic rat heart to calcium

An alteration in calcium metabolism in cardiac muscle was observed in diabetic rats 3 mo after streptozotocin treatment. Depression of cardiac output and left ventricular pressure development were more sensitive to decreased extra-cellular calcium in hearts from diabetic than from control animals and occurred within the normal physiological range of freely ionized serum calcium. This decrease in calcium sensitivity was not present after 2 wk of diabetes. In vivo treatment with insulin for 1 mo completely reversed the effect. Addition of octanoate (0.3 mM) to the perfusate of isolated hearts completely reversed the defect, whereas epinephrine (25 nM) only partially reversed it. When the glucose concentration of the perfusate was decreased, the function of diabetic hearts declined and was further diminished at decreasing calcium levels. Hearts from normal rats were unaffected. These results suggest that there is a defect in calcium metabolism or flux in the chronic diabetic rat heart.