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Effects of Early Severe Malnutrition on Heart and Skeletal Muscle Lactate Dehydrogenase¹

Department of Biological Sciences, University of Illinois, Chicago, Illinois 60680

Following weaning, rats from litter sizes of 15 to 20 were subjected to severe food restriction for 10 weeks, and compared to rats from litter size 5 fed ad libitum. Percent M (muscle type) lactate dehydrogenase, M and H (heart type) subunit activity and lactate dehydrogenase activity (per g wet weight) determined both electrophoretically and spectrophotometrically were all significantly lower in separated left and right ventricles of the malnourished rats. There were no differences in skeletal muscle lactate dehydrogenase activity. Following 5 weeks of ad libitum feeding, the previously malnourished rats showed large increases in body weight. Now only the right ventricle showed slight decreases in H subunit and lactate dehydrogenase activity; other measurements in the right ventricle and all in the left ventricle had returned to control levels. Skeletal muscle lactate dehydrogenase activity was not different from controls.

KEY WORDS: • malnutrition • heart • lactate dehydrogenase • isozymes • skeletal muscle

¹ Supported in part by U.S.P.H.S. research grant HL 16367-01 (NHLI).

Manuscript received 4 August 1975.