Myoglobin-Mediated Oxygen Delivery to Mitochondria of Isolated Cardiac Myocytes (Electron Transport/Heart Cells/Cytochrome Oxidase) BEATRICE A
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Proc. Nati. Acad. Sci. USA Vol. 84, pp. 7503-7507, November 1987 Biochemistry Myoglobin-mediated oxygen delivery to mitochondria of isolated cardiac myocytes (electron transport/heart cells/cytochrome oxidase) BEATRICE A. WITTENBERG* AND JONATHAN B. WITTENBERG Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY 10461 Communicated by Berta Scharrer, July 20, 1987 (receivedfor review May 5, 1987) ABSTRACT Myoglobin-mediated oxygen delivery to in- Cytochrome oxidase, half-oxidized when ambient oxygen tracellular mitochondria is demonstrated in cardiac myocytes partial pressure (Po2) is 0.07 torr (1 torr = 133 Pa) (16), in the isolated from the hearts of mature rats. Myocytes are held at circumstance described here experiences oxygen pressures high ambient oxygen pressure, 40-340 torr (5-45 kPa); 20- to 200-fold the pressure required to maintain the normal, sarcoplasmic myoglobin is fully oxygenated. In this condition largely oxidized, state seen in resting myocytes (16). Carbon oxygen availability does not limit respiratory rate; myoglobin- monoxide in this circumstance blocks oxygenation of facilitated diffusion contributes no additional oxygen flux and, sarcoplasmic myoglobin selectively without perturbing the since oxygen consumption is measured in steady states, the optical spectrum of intracellular cytochrome oxidase. We storage function of myoglobin vanishes. Carbon monoxide, conclude that cardiac mitochondria accept two additive introduced stepwise, displaces oxygen from intracellular simultaneous flows of oxygen: the well-known flow of dis- oxymyoglobin without altering the optical spectrum of the solved oxygen to cytochrome oxidase and a flow of largely oxidized intracellular mitochondria. A large part, myoglobin-bound oxygen to a mitochondrial terminus. The about one-third, of the steady-state oxygen uptake is abolished myoglobin-mediated oxygen flow supports ATP generation by carbon monoxide blockade of myoglobin oxygenation. The in the physiological range of oxygen pressure. myoglobin-dependent component of the oxygen uptake de- creases linearly with decreasing fraction of intracellular MATERIALS AND METHODS oxymyoglobin, with a slope near unity. Studies using inhibitors of mitochondrial electron transport indicate- that myoglobin- Isolated Cardiac Myocytes. These were prepared from the delivered oxygen uptake depends on electron flow through the hearts of mature rats by enzymatic digestion, purified on mitochondrial electron transport chain. We conclude that Percoll (Pharmacia) density gradients, and suspended to a cardiac mitochondria accept two additive simultaneous flows of final density of 0.5-1.0 x 106 cells per ml (19, 20). oxygen: a flow of dissolved oxygen to cytochrome oxidase and Mitochondria. Mitochondria were prepared by the method a flow of myoglobin-bound oxygen to a mitochondrial termi- of Palmer et al. (21) from adult rat hearts that had been nus. Myoglobin-mediated oxygen delivery supports ATP gen- perfused with balanced saline solution to remove erythro- eration by heart cells at physiological ambient oxygen pressure. cytes. Gas Partial Pressures and Oxygen Uptake. All measure- Myoglobin is an oxygen-binding monomeric hemeprotein ments were made in steady states (7, 16) of constant oxygen found in the cytosol of cardiac myocytes and of those pressure and oxygen uptake. The measuring chamber had vertebrate muscle fibers that do sustained work (1). The both liquid and gas phases (16, 22). The gas phase composi- myoglobin content of muscles increases with exercise (1-3) tion was set by a mass flow controller (Tylan, Torrance, CA). and is proportional to the cytochrome oxidase content (2, 4, Since carbon monoxide is not consumed, solution Pco is 5). Myoglobin, by facilitating oxygen diffusion, maintains an known from the composition of the gas phase. Solution ample free oxygen concentration at the muscle mitochon- oxygen pressure was monitored by a sensitive polarographic drion (2, 4, 6). Blockade of myoglobin function decreases oxygen electrode and is the balance of oxygen entering and oxygen uptake (7, 8), work output (8, 9), and ATP generation oxygen consumed by the myocytes. At constant temperature (10) of cardiac and skeletal muscle. and stirring rate, oxygen uptake is known from the difference Facilitation of oxygen diffusion through the sarcoplasm of between solution Po2 in the absence of myocytes (equal to the myocyte has often been taken as the sole function of gas-phase Po2) and the actual solution Po2 in the presence of myoglobin in muscles in the steady state. Here we show an myocytes, using a mass transfer coefficient that is determined additional function: myoglobin-mediated oxygen delivery to daily (16, 22, 23). The temperature was 30'C in all experi- mitochondria. This is most clearly demonstrated in isolated ments. cardiac myocytes flooded with superabundant oxygen (11, Optical Spectra. The chamber was held in a thermostatted 12). In this circumstance, the maximum diffusive flow of block placed in the sample light beam of a Cary model 17 dissolved oxygen across the sarcoplasm exceeds the mito- recording spectrophotometer (Varian) equipped with a Cary chondrial oxygen demand at least 100-fold (13, 14); sarco- scattered transmission accessory. Data were acquired digi- plasmic myoglobin is essentially fully oxygenated, and facil- tally from 650 to 350 nm, and difference spectra were itated diffusion contributes no additional oxygen flux (2, 4, 6). constructed by subtraction, using an Aviv data acquisition Since oxygen uptake is in steady states, the storage function system (Aviv Laboratories, Lakewood, NJ). The spectral of myoglobin vanishes (7). Intracellular gradients of oxygen contribution of myoglobin dominates the myocyte optical pressure, always shallow (15-18), now are small relative to spectrum (16). Under the conditions of our experiments, ambient oxygen pressure. Abbreviations: CCCP, carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone; MbO2, oxymyoglobin; MbCO, carbon monoxide myoglobin; Po2, The publication costs of this article were defrayed in part by page charge partial pressure of oxygen; Pco, partial pressure of carbon monox- payment. This article must therefore be hereby marked "advertisement" ide. in accordance with 18 U.S.C. §1734 solely to indicate this fact. *To whom reprint requests should be addressed. 7503 Downloaded by guest on October 1, 2021 7504 Biochemistry: Wittenberg and Wittenberg Proc. Natl. Acad Sci. USA 84 (1987) intracellular myoglobin is essentially completely ligated; oxy- a and carbon monoxide myoglobin are the dominant species present. The contribution of myoglobin was calculated from w the spectral changes occurring at 409 and 424 nm, when By intracellular oxymyoglobin was converted fully to carbon 0u monoxide myoglobin, and was subtracted from myocyte spectra to obtain a residuum dominated by the spectral z contribution of the mitochondria. The fraction of carbon w monoxide myoglobin at any Pco was calculated from spectral x changes observed at 409 and 424 nm. Excellent isosbesticity 0 was maintained at 415 and 438 nm. Energetics of Cardiac Myocytes. Suspensions of myocytes were incubated in the measuring chamber for 60 min. Oxygen ATP, intracellular phosphocreatine, and b uptake, intracellular 0 1.0I accumulated lactate (final minus initial) were determined as 0 previously (16, 20). me - _ _ 0 U *- - - S~ RESULTS w A.~ I- 0.5 /U/ The partition of intracellular myoglobin between carbon a. ,0 monoxide and oxygen, M = ([MbCO] x Po2)/([MbO2] x z // Pco), was determined graphically as the slope of the line in 0/ Fig. 1. 'The partition coefficient, M = 20 at 30'C, is not largely / different from that of purified rat heart myoglobin, M = 29 at 0 00 I40 30'C, which we determined by conventional procedures (24, 0 10 20 30 40 25). The reasonable value of the slope, together with the Pco torr linearity of the relation found, indicates near equilibrium between sarcoplasmic myoglobin, oxygen, and carbon mon- FIG. 2. Steady-state oxygen uptake of suspensions of cardiac oxide. myocytes as a function of carbon monoxide partial pressure. Res- The effect of carbon monoxide on steady-state respiration piratory rate [14.4 ± 3.3 nmol of oxygen per min per ml per 106 cells of cardiac myocytes is presented in Fig. 2. Within each (mean ± SD; n = 29) in these experiments] is normalized, taking the experiment, the fraction of oxygen in the gas phase was held uninhibited rate in each experiment as unity. Data are from three experiments. m, 15% oxygen in the gas phase (solution P92 = 80-90 constant at 10-25% and the fraction of carbon monoxide was torr); e, 20% oxygen (solution Po2 = 100-120 torr); A, 25% oxygen increased stepwise. Steady-state solution oxygen pressure, (solution Po2 = 155-160 torr). (a) Pco = 0-730 torr. (b) The same steady-state oxygen uptake, and optical spectra were moni- data presented over a limited range; the fractional saturation of tored. The oxygen uptake of cardiac myocytes held at high sarcoplasmic myoglobin in one experiment is presented (o--- o; Po2 decreases initially as Pco is increased, stays nearly 20%o oxygen in the gas phase). The myoglobin-dependent component constant a in which is of the oxygen uptake is taken as the difference between the in prolonged plateau myoglobin fully uninhibited rate and the plateau value reached as sarcoplasmic saturated with carbon monoxide, and finally, above 95% myoglobin approaches saturation with carbon monoxide. carbon monoxide, in the gas phase, declines to zero as carbon