Differential changes in left and right ventricular adenylyl cyclase activities in congestive heart failure

The status of beta-adrenergic receptors and adenylyl cyclase in crude membranes from both left and right ventricles was examined when the left coronary artery in rats was occluded for 4, 8, and 16 wk. The adenylyl cyclase activity in the presence of isoproterenol was decreased in the uninfarcted (viable) left ventricle and increased in the right ventricle subsequent to myocardial infarction. The density of beta1-adrenergic receptors, unlike beta2-receptors, was reduced in the left ventricle, whereas no change in the characteristics of beta1- and beta2-adrenergic receptors was seen in the right ventricle. The catalytic activity of adenylyl cyclase was depressed in the viable left ventricle but was unchanged in the right ventricle. In comparison to sham controls, the basal, as well as NaF-, forskolin-, and 5'-guanylyl imidodiphosphate [Gpp(NH)p]-stimulated adenylyl cyclase activities were decreased in the left ventricle and increased in the right ventricle of the experimental animals. Opposite alterations in the adenylyl cyclase activities in left and right ventricles from infarcted animals were also seen when two types of purified sarcolemmal preparations were employed. These changes in adenylyl cyclase activities in the left and right ventricles were dependent on the degree of heart failure. Furthermore, adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate contents were higher in the right ventricle and lower in the left ventricle from infarcted animals injected with saline, isoproterenol, or forskolin in comparison to the controls. The results suggest differential changes in the viable left and right ventricles with respect to adenylyl cyclase activities during the development of congestive heart failure due to myocardial infarction.