title: Testosterone-augmented contractile responses to alpha1- and beta1-adrenoceptor stimulation are associated with increased activities of RyR, SERCA, and NCX in the heart.
abstract: We hypothesized that testosterone at physiological levels enhances cardiac contractile responses to stimulation of both alpha(1)- and beta(1)-adrenoceptors by increasing Ca(2+) release from the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) and speedier removal of Ca(2+) from cytosol via Ca(2+)-regulatory proteins. We first determined the left ventricular developed pressure, velocity of contraction and relaxation, and heart rate in perfused hearts isolated from control rats, orchiectomized rats, and orchiectomized rats without and with testosterone replacement (200 microg/100 g body wt) in the presence of norepinephrine (10(-7) M), the alpha(1)-adrenoceptor agonist phenylephrine (10(-6) M), or the nonselective beta-adrenoceptor agonist isoprenaline (10(-7) M) in the presence of 5 x 10(-7) M ICI-118,551, a beta(2)-adrenoceptor antagonist. Next, we determined the amplitudes of intracellular Ca(2+) concentration transients induced by electrical stimulation or caffeine, which represent, respectively, Ca(2+) release via the ryanodine receptor (RyR) or releasable Ca(2+) in the SR, in ventricular myocytes isolated from the three groups of rats. We also measured (45)Ca(2+) release via the RyR. We then determined the time to 50% decay of both transients, which represents, respectively, Ca(2+) reuptake by sarco(endo)plasmic reticulum Ca(2+)-ATPase (SERCA) and removal via the sarcolemmal Na(+)/Ca(2+) exchanger (NCX). We correlated Ca(2+) removal from the cytosol with activities of SERCA and its regulator phospholamban as well as NCX. The results showed that testosterone at physiological levels enhanced positive inotropic and lusitropic responses to stimulation of alpha(1)- and beta(1)-adrenoceptors via the androgen receptor. The increased contractility and speedier relaxation were associated with increased Ca(2+) release via the RyR and faster Ca(2+) removal out of the cytosol via SERCA and NCX.
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Physiology, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China. sharont@graduate.hku.hk
authors.forename: Sharon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tsang
authors.forename: Stanley S C
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.forename: Song
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Gennadi M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Kravtsov
authors.forename: Tak-Ming
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Wong