This Article Figures Only Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Leineweber, K. Articles by Brodde, O.-E. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Leineweber, K. Articles by Brodde, O.-E.

CLINICAL STUDY: CARDIAC ARRHYTHMIAS

Age-dependent changes of cardiac neuronal noradrenaline reuptake transporter (uptake₁) in the human heart

Kirsten Leineweber, PhD^*, Thekla Wangemann, Christine Giessler^*, Heike Bruck^*, Stefan Dhein, MD, Martin Kostelka, MD, Friedrich-Wilhelm Mohr, MD, Rolf-Edgar Silber, MD and Otto-Erich Brodde, PhD^*,,*

^* Institute of Pharmacology, Halle, Germany
Clinic for Cardiothoracic Surgery, Martin-Luther-University of Halle-Wittenberg, Halle, Germany
Heart Center, Clinic for Cardiac Surgery, Leipzig, Germany
Departments of Pathophysiology and Nephrology, University of Essen School of Medicine, Essen, Germany

Manuscript received February 19, 2002; revised manuscript received May 7, 2002, accepted June 7, 2002.

^* Reprint requests and correspondence: Dr. Otto-Erich Brodde, Department of Pathophysiology and Nephrology, University of Essen, School of Medicine, Hufelandstr. 55, D-45147, Essen, Germany.
otto-erich.brodde{at}medizin.uni-halle.de

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to elucidate whether the neuronal noradrenaline reuptake transporter (uptake₁) undergoes age-dependent regulation in the human heart.

BACKGROUND: Aging is associated with various alterations in cardiovascular function.

METHODS: We determined uptake₁ density (by [³H]-nisoxetine binding to membranes) and activity (by accumulation of [³H]-noradrenaline into tissue slices) in the right atria (RA) of 42 patients (age range 3 months to 76 years) undergoing open-heart surgery without apparent heart failure. Moreover, the effects of 1 µmol/l desipramine on the noradrenaline-induced positive inotropic effect were assessed in the isolated, electrically driven RA trabeculae of these patients.

RESULTS: There was a significant negative correlation between RA uptake₁ density and age; moreover, RA uptake₁ activity was significantly reduced in elderly patients. Desipramine (1 µmol/l) significantly shifted noradrenaline concentration-response curves to the left; this shift was significantly more pronounced in younger patients than in older patients.

CONCLUSIONS: With increasing age, human myocardial uptake₁ activity decreases, possibly because of age-dependent downregulation of uptake₁ density.

Abbreviations and Acronyms   RA   right atrium/atria/atrial   NAT   neuronal noradrenaline transporter   NYHA   New York Heart Association

This article has been cited by other articles:

				F. H. H. Leenen, A. Fourney, E. Coletta, and R. White Effects of hypertension on cardiovascular responses to epinephrine in humans Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol, June 1, 2007; 292(6): H3025 - H3031. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				G. Munch, K. Rosport, A. Bultmann, C. Baumgartner, Z. Li, L. Laacke, and M. Ungerer Cardiac Overexpression of the Norepinephrine Transporter Uptake-1 Results in Marked Improvement of Heart Failure Circ. Res., October 28, 2005; 97(9): 928 - 936. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S.-T. Li, C. Holmes, I. J. Kopin, and D. S. Goldstein Aging-Related Changes in Cardiac Sympathetic Function in Humans, Assessed by 6-18F-Fluorodopamine PET Scanning J. Nucl. Med., October 1, 2003; 44(10): 1599 - 1603. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]