Effect of treppe on isovolumic function in the isolated blood-perfused mouse heart

The effects of treppe on left ventricular function in the isolated mouse heart perfused with physiological buffer or with erythrocyte-rich buffer were compared. Left ventricular systolic and diastolic pressures were measured in the isovolumically contracting (balloon in the left ventricle) mouse hearts. Hearts were isolated from 12 adult Swiss-Webster mice and perfused at constant pressure (approximately 85 mmHg) via the aorta. Perfusate consisted of non-recirculating oxygenated Krebs-Henseleit (KH) solution without or with washed cow red blood cells at a hematocrit of 20% (KH-RBC20). The measured ionized calcium concentration of the perfusates were adjusted to 2.2 mmol/l and the temperature held constant at 37 degrees C. Left ventricular systolic pressure, its derivative and diastolic pressures were recorded via a pressure transducer attached to a small latex balloon which was placed in the left ventricle through a left atrial incision. The balloon volume was adjusted to achieve an end-diastolic pressure of 4-8 mmHg. Left ventricular (LV) developed pressure averaged 111 +/- 4 (mean +/- S.E.M.) with KH alone and 108 +/- 4 mmHg with KH-RBC20 while the coronary flows were 3.1 +/- 0.18 and 0.95 +/- 0.15 ml/min respectively. In both KH solution alone and KH-RBC20, developed pressure remained relatively stable from 3 to 5 Hz while +/- dp/dt increased approximately 10% above values observed at 3 Hz. During KH perfusion with increasing stimulation rates, left ventricular pressure and +/- dP/dt, to a lesser extent, decreased while end-diastolic pressure markedly increased at stimulation rates higher than 5 Hz. However, KH-RBC20 perfusion prevented the marked increase in diastolic pressure with increasing stimulation rates (from 5 to 10 Hz). No significant difference in left ventricular developed pressure or +/dP/dt response to treppe were in evidence between groups. These results demonstrate that diastolic function of the isovolumically contracting mouse heart is sensitive to treppe and different techniques of perfusion. Buffer perfusion alone may limit accurate measurement of left ventricular diastolic properties and exacerbate changes in diastolic function, particularly under conditions of increased oxygen demand. The erythrocyte perfused mouse heart provides an in vitro model for determining cardiac function which is physiologically superior to buffer perfusion, and may be useful to investigators to assess gene influence on left ventricular function in genetically altered mice.