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Uptake and accumulation in vitro of 3H-noradrenaline in adrenergic nerves of human atrium

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Summary

The adrenergic innervation and the in vitro uptake of 3H-noradrenaline has been investigated in human atrial tissue slices from patients undergoing thoracic surgery. The atrial appendage was richly innervated, but the density of the adrenergic nerve plexus varied considerably between different tissues examined. The nerve terminals were of characteristic varicose appearance, running singly or in bundles along the long axis of the muscle fibers. The nerve fibers seemed to penetrate in between the muscle cells. The distribution and appearance of the adrenergic nerves were quite similar to those described in earlier investigations of heart tissue from other species. The uptake and accumulation of 3H-noradrenaline in vitro increased with increasing concentration in the medium and with time, and the uptake process could efficiently be blocked by desmethylimipramine (DMI), a potent inhibitor of the uptake mechanism located at the axonal membrane, the so called ‘membrane pump’. There was a true accumulation of 3H-noradrenaline in the atrial tissue during the incubation, compared to the medium. The metabolism of 3H-noradrenaline during the incubation has also been studied. The data presented speak in favour of the view that the adrenergic nerves of human atria possess an efficient uptake accumulation mechanism for noradrenaline.

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Abbreviations

DMI:

desmethylimipramine

NA:

noradrenaline

NM:

normetanephrine

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  1. Department of Histology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden

    Charlotte Sachs

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  1. Charlotte Sachs
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Sachs, C. Uptake and accumulation in vitro of 3H-noradrenaline in adrenergic nerves of human atrium. Histochemie 19, 189–198 (1969). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00281100

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