Restoring of primary cultures contractile activity of rat cardiomyocytes suppressed by mitochondrial inhibitors NADH-dehydrogenase under the influence of hydrophilic quinones

In this study, we first demonstrate by an optical mapping technique that the contractileactivity of primal neonatal cardiac cell culture, blocked by inhibitors of respiratory complex I rotenone and piericidine, can be regenerated by duroquinone and menadione (vitamin K3). It is known that NAD(P)H:oxidoreductase type I (NQO1,DT-diaphorase) belongs to that kind of enzymes which can be overexpressed under toxic impact. Until 2000, however, it was believed that in cardiomyocytes, due to the nature of their energetics, the active expression of NQO1 does not take place. We first show here that the path of electron transfer in the respiratory chain activated by NQO1, among other things, can be used to maintain the contractile activity of cardiomyocytes.