HYPERTROPHY OF ISOLATED ADULT FELINE HEART-CELLS FOLLOWING BETA-ADRENERGIC-INDUCED BEATING

Catecholamine-induced beating and myocardial hypertrophy were evaluated in isolated adult feline cardiomyocytes maintained in culture for up to 30 days. Adult feline cardiomyocytes were used in this study because they displayed several unique characteristics that facilitated assessment of factors regulating cardiomyocyte hypertrophy in vitro. These characteristics included the following. 1) A single heart provides a high yield of 20-40 x 10(6) calcium-tolerant rod-shaped myocytes. 2) In culture, isolated adult feline cardiomyocytes maintain a stable population of differentiated myocytes that could be maintained without the dramatic loss of cell number, DNA content, or cell structure seen in adult rat cardiomyocyte cultures. Cultured feline cardiomyocytes remained quiescent in culture unless appropriately stimulated to begin beating. 4) Sustained regular beating activity could be readily initiated up to 3 wk in culture by addition of 1 x 10(-5) M isoproterenol, other beta-adrenergic agonists, or agents known to elevate adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate. Beating could be maintained indefinitely in the presence of isoproterenol, but ceased upon removal of isoproterenol from the medium. Initiation of beating in 7-day-old cultures resulted in a profound restructuring of cardiomyocyte morphology compared with quiescent cultures. Beating heart cells were 66% larger with increased protein content, and they had significantly greater development of striated myofibrillar structure than quiescent myocytes at the same age in culture. We conclude that maintenance of an organized myofibrillar structure in cultured adult cardiac myocytes requires activation of intrinsic beating. Cardiomyocyte hypertrophy also develops following beta-adrenergic activation of beating, but it is unclear whether beating per se is required for inducing hypertrophy in isolated adult cardiomyocytes in vitro.