Cardiac endothelial transport and metabolism of adenosine and inosine

The influence of transmembrane flux limitations on cellular metabolism of purine nucleosides was assessed in whole organ studies. Transcapillary transport of the purine nucleosides adenosine (Ado) and inosine (Ino) via paracellular diffusion through interendothelial clefts in parallel with carrier-mediated transendothelial fluxes was studied in isolated, Krebs-Henseleit-perfused rabbit and guinea pig hearts. After injection into coronary inflow, multiple-indicator dilution curves were obtained from coronary outflow for 90 s for131I-labeled albumin (intravascular reference tracer), [3H]arabinofuranosyl hypoxanthine (AraH; extracellular reference tracer and nonreactive adenosine analog), and either [14C]Ado or [14C]Ino. Ado or Ino was separated from their degradative products, hypoxanthine, xanthine, and uric acid, in each outflow sample by HPLC and radioisotope counting. Ado and Ino, but not AraH, permeate the luminal membrane of endothelial cells via a saturable transporter with permeability-surface area ...