Neuronal reuptake of norepinephrine and production of dihydroxyphenylglycol by cardiac sympathetic nerves in the anesthetized dog.

BACKGROUND Reuptake of norepinephrine by cardiac sympathetic nerves before and during two levels of electrical stimulation of the left ansa subclavia was estimated in anesthetized dogs from the cardiac production of dihydroxyphenylglycol (DHPG), the intraneuronal metabolite of norepinephrine. METHODS AND RESULTS The method depended on the effects of neuronal uptake blockade with desipramine on the cardiac production of [3H]DHPG from intravenously infused [3H]norepinephrine. The ratio of the desipramine-induced decrease in the cardiac extraction of [3H]norepinephrine to the production of [3H]DHPG was used to transform the cardiac production of DHPG from recaptured norepinephrine into a rate for norepinephrine reuptake. Cardiac spillover of norepinephrine into plasma increased from 49 +/- 12 to 205 +/- 40 and 451 +/- 118 pmol/min during sympathetic activation. Cardiac DHPG production increased from 108 +/- 18 to 166 +/- 34 and 240 +/- 47 pmol/min. Desipramine decreased resting cardiac DHPG production by 20% and completely blocked the stimulation-induced increase. Thus, most (80%) cardiac DHPG produced at rest was derived from norepinephrine leaking from storage vesicles. This amount remained constant, and that derived from recaptured norepinephrine increased during sympathetic activation. The cardiac extraction of [3H]norepinephrine (126,000 dpm/min) and production of [3H]DHPG (3,790 dpm/min) were decreased by 55-57% after desipramine. Thus, only 3% of the norepinephrine recaptured by cardiac sympathetic nerves appeared in plasma as DHPG. The remainder was sequestered into storage vesicles (more than 94%) or ultimately formed metabolites other than DHPG (less than 3%). Reuptake of norepinephrine by cardiac sympathetic nerves was 1,188 +/- 476 pmol/min and increased in parallel with cardiac norepinephrine spillover to 4,182 +/- 1,982 and 6,594 +/- 2,241 pmol/min during sympathetic stimulation. CONCLUSIONS Of the norepinephrine released by cardiac sympathetic nerves, 16-fold more was recaptured than entered plasma. Combined estimation of norepinephrine reuptake and spillover offers an approach to assess the efficiency of neuronal reuptake in disorders of cardiac function.