The effect of myocardial ischemia on mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation was investigated using isolated, buffer-perfused rabbit hearts. After 45 min of global ischemia, oxidative phosphorylation was decreased only in the subsarcolemmal population of mitochondria with all substrates tested. The oxidation of N,N,N',N' tetramethyl p-phenylenediamine-ascorbate, an electron donor to cytochrome oxidase via cytochrome c, was decreased in subsarcolemmal mitochondria [ischemia (n = 6): 76 +/- 3 vs. control (n = 5): 105 +/- 6 nanoatoms O.min-1.mg-1, P < 0.01] but not in interfibrillar mitochondria. Only minor morphological changes were observed by electron microscopy in the isolated mitochondria after ischemia. Neither cytochrome oxidase activity measured under conditions for maximal activity nor the apparent Michaelis constant and maximum velocity values of the two cytochrome c binding sites were different in subsarcolemmal mitochondria isolated from ischemic and control hearts. The cytochrome c content was decreased in subsarcolemmal mitochondria after ischemia (ischemia: 0.111 +/- 0.013 vs. control: 0.156 +/- 0.007 nmol/mg protein, P < 0.05). Thus ischemia decreased the rate of oxidative phosphorylation through cytochrome oxidase selectively in intact subsarcolemmal mitochondria. Ischemic damage to the terminal segment of the electron transport chain involves a decrease in the content of cytochrome c, whereas the expressible catalytic activity of cytochrome oxidase remains unchanged.

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Mitochondria contribute to myocyte injury during ischemia. After 30 and 45 min of ischemia in the isolated perfused rabbit heart, subsarcolemmal mitochondria (SSM), located beneath the plasma membrane, sustain a decrease in oxidative phosphorylation through cytochrome oxidase. In contrast, oxidation through cytochrome oxidase in interfibrillar mitochondria (IFM), located between the myofibrils, remains unaffected. Cytochrome oxidase activity in the intact membrane requires an inner mitochondrial membrane lipid environment enriched in cardiolipin. During ischemia, the content of cardiolipin decreased only in SSM, whereas the content of other phospholipids was preserved. Ischemia did not alter the composition of the cardiolipin that remained in SSM. Cardiolipin content was preserved in IFM during ischemia. Thus cardiolipin is a relatively early target of ischemic mitochondrial damage, leading to loss of oxidative phosphorylation through cytochrome oxidase in SSM.

Ischemia and reperfusion result in mitochondrial dysfunction, with decreases in oxidative capacity, loss of cytochrome c, and generation of reactive oxygen species. During ischemia of the isolated perfused rabbit heart, subsarcolemmal mitochondria, located beneath the plasma membrane, sustain a loss of the phospholipid cardiolipin, with decreases in oxidative metabolism through cytochrome oxidase and the loss of cytochrome c. We asked whether additional injury to the distal electron chain involving cardiolipin with loss of cytochrome c and cytochrome oxidase occurs during reperfusion. Reperfusion did not lead to additional damage in the distal electron transport chain. Oxidation through cytochrome oxidase and the content of cytochrome c did not further decrease during reperfusion. Thus injury to cardiolipin, cytochrome c, and cytochrome oxidase occurs during ischemia rather than during reperfusion. The ischemic injury leads to persistent defects in oxidative function during the early reperfusion period. The decrease in cardiolipin content accompanied by persistent decrements in the content of cytochrome c and oxidation through cytochrome oxidase is a potential mechanism of additional myocyte injury during reperfusion.