Dopaminergic responses in the Fischer 344 rat heart: preserved chronotropic and dromotropic responses with aging.

BACKGROUND Marked decreases in cardiac responses to beta-adrenergic stimuli have been found in cellular, animal, and human models of physiologic aging. As another probe of receptor-regulated cardiovascular changes with aging, responses to dopamine were studied. Responses were studied with and without depletion of myocardial catecholamines to eliminate effects secondary to myocardial catecholamine release. METHODS Responses of heart rate (A-A intervals), atrioventricular conduction (AV intervals and AV Wenckebach block cycle length) to 0-50 microM dopamine were studied in Langendorff perfused hearts from 10 mature (6.2 +/- 0.8 mo, mean +/- SD) and 9 senescent (23.6 +/- 0.7 mo) Fischer 344 rats and in hearts from 10 mature (5.3 +/- 0.4 mo) and 8 senescent (23.9 +/- 0.8) Fischer 344 rats after myocardial catecholamine depletion by reserpine (0.25 mg/kg i.p. x 5 days). RESULTS Dopamine decreased A-A (p < .0001) and AV conduction intervals (p < .0001) and increased peak developed pressure (p < .0001) and dP/dt (p < .001) in hearts from nonreserpine treated mature and senescent rats. Greater decreases in A-A intervals and AV conduction were seen in senescent compared to mature hearts (p < .0001). Contractile responses were greater in mature hearts (p < .001). After reserpine, A-A interval and paced AV conduction dose vs response relationships shifted rightward (p < .0001), but peak responses and age-related differences in responses were not significantly affected. In contrast, increases in peak developed pressure were greatly reduced in mature hearts (p < .0001) and age-related differences in contractile responses to dopamine were eliminated in hearts from reserpine-treated rats. CONCLUSIONS (a) A-A interval and AV conduction responses to dopamine were greater in senescent hearts even after catecholamine depletion, suggesting age-related differences in sinus and AV nodal responses to direct dopaminergic stimuli exist. (b) Age-related differences in contractile responses to dopamine were eliminated by reserpine suggesting basal age-related differences in response were secondary to age-related differences in responses to myocardial catecholamine release.