AJP - Heart and Circulatory Physiology, Vol 246, Issue 3 389-H397, Copyright © 1984 by American Physiological Society
Oxidation of carbohydrates and palmitate by intact cultured neonatal rat heart cells
P. D. Ross and R. L. McCarl
The rates of uptake and oxidation of glucose, lactate, pyruvate, and
palmitate were measured for "mixed" cultures of rat heart cells that
exhibit a myocyte-to-fibroblast ratio similar to that observed in vivo.
Glucose uptake and conversion to lactate were also measured using enriched
cultures of myocytes and fibroblasts. The metabolism of mixed cultures,
which contain 70-80% myocytes, closely resembles that of enriched myocyte
cultures. The energy production and substrate oxidation rates of cultured
neonatal heart cells, adult myocytes, and perfused hearts are compared. It
appears that the energy requirements of cultured heart cells are much lower
than that of whole tissue. The results suggest that the metabolism of
cultured heart cells may be basically the same as those in vivo but appears
to be different because of reduced energy requirements in culture.
