Attenuation of ethanol toxicity in primary myocardial cell cultures from offspring of swim-trained pregnant rats

Abstract

Primary myocardial cell cultures were obtained from 3-5-day-old offspring of Sprague-Dawley rats (dams) that were swim-trained during pregnancy. Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release, succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) activity, beating rates and morphology were examined after treatment of these cultures with ethanol concentrations of 600, 800 and 1000 mg/100 ml for 1, 4 or 24 hr. In these cultures, ethanol exposure had no effect on SDH activity, and LDH release was only observed after 24-hr exposure to the higher concentrations of ethanol. Vacuolization and granulation occurred only in cultures exposed to 1000 mg ethanol/100 ml for 4 or 24 hr and complete loss of beating was observed only after 24-hr exposure to 1000 mg/100 ml. In a previous study (Butler et al. Toxicology 1985, 36, 61-70), the same parameters of toxicity were examined in myocardial cell cultures derived from offspring of sedentary dams; the latter cultures exhibited extensive toxic effects on LDH release, SDH activity, morphology and beating activity within shorter times and with lower concentrations of ethanol. Thus, in this exercise study, patterns of ethanol toxicity were established and the data obtained suggest that maternal swim-training during pregnancy induces adaptations in the primary myocardial cells from the offspring, resulting in temporal protection from ethanol-induced damage.