Effects of long-term pressure overload on regional myocardial glucose and free fatty acid uptake in rats. A quantitative autoradiographic study.

To investigate the effects of long-term pressure overload on regional myocardial substrate use, we performed quantitative autoradiography using 2-deoxy-D-[U-14C]glucose (14C-DG) and beta-methyl[1-14C]heptadecanoic acid (14C-BMHDA) in conscious rats with a 10-week ascending aortic constriction. Heart weight/body weight ratio increased by 27% in aortic-constricted rats as compared with sham-operated rats (p less than 0.01). Myocardial 14C-DG uptake increased (258 +/- 63 vs. 144 +/- 41 nCi/g, p less than 0.01, n = 6 for each group); however, 14C-BMHDA extraction decreased (251 +/- 69 vs. 342 +/- 75 nCi/g, p less than 0.05, n = 7 for each group) in aortic-constricted rats as compared with sham-operated rats. In sham-operated rats, both 14C-DG and 14C-BMHDA uptakes were higher in the left ventricular anterior and lateral walls as compared with the posterior wall or the interventricular septum. In aortic-constricted rats, 14C-DG uptake also increased in the interventricular septum, as well as in the left ventri...