| Abstract: | Our previous study indicated that, in the isolated rabbit heart, perfusion with Ca2+ free Krebs Henseleit buffer (KHB) results in increased conversion of exogenous arachidonic acid to PGE2 and 6-keto-PGF1α, probably as the result of increased availability of substrate to cuclooxygenase. Since perfusion with Ca2+ free buffer is known to cause alterations in the cardiac content of various mono- and divalent cations, the present study was performed to determine: a) The relationship between the conversion of exogenous arachidonic acid to prostaglandins and cardiac content of Na+, K+, Ca2+ and Mg2+; and b) Whether enhanced arachidonic acid conversion to prostaglandins during Caa2+ free perfusion is due to reduced incorporation of this fatty acid into tissue lipids. Perfusion of the rabbit heart with Ca2+ free buffer produced a significant reduction in the tissue content of Na+, K+, Ca2+ and Mg2+. However, the production of 6-keto-PGF1α from exogenous arachidonic acid was linearly correlated with tissue Mg2+. These observations, together with our finding that perfusion with Ca2+ free KHB reduced the incorporation of 3H] arachidonic acid into tissue lipids, suggests that Ca2+ free perfusion may, by reducing the activity of arachidonyl CoA synthetase (a Mg2+ dependent enzyme), decrease the acylation of arachidonic acid into lipids, thus increasing the availability of arachidonic acid to cyclooxygenase. |
