The more recent studies of human pathologies have essentially revealed the complexity of the interactions involved at the different levels of integration in organ physiology. Integrated organ thus reveals functional properties not predictable by underlying molecular events. It is therefore obvious that current fine molecular analyses of pathologies should be fruitfully combined with integrative approaches of whole organ function. It follows that an important issue in the comprehension of the link between molecular events in pathologies and whole organ function/dysfunction is the development of new experimental strategies aimed at the study of the integrated organ physiology. Cardiovascular diseases are a good example as heart submitted to ischemic conditions has to cope both with a decreased supply of nutrients and oxygen, and the necessary increased activity required to sustain whole body-including the heart itself-oxygenation.By combining the principles of control analysis with noninvasive 31P NMR measurement of the energetic intermediates and simultaneous measurement of heart contractile activity, we developed MoCA (for Modular Control and regulation Analysis), an integrative approach designed to study in situ control and regulation of cardiac energetics during contraction in intact beating perfused isolated heart (Diolez et al., Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol 293(1):R13-R19, 2007). Because it gives real access to integrated organ function, MoCA brings out a new type of information-the "elasticities," referring to integrated internal responses to metabolic changes-that may be a key to the understanding of the processes involved in pathologies. MoCA can potentially be used not only to detect the origin of the defects associated with the pathology, but also to provide the quantitative description of the routes by which these defects-or also drugs-modulate global heart function, therefore opening therapeutic perspectives. This review presents selected examples of the applications to isolated intact beating heart that evidence different modes of energetic regulation of cardiac contraction. We also discuss the clinical application by using noninvasive 31P cardiac energetics examination under clinical conditions for detection of heart pathologies.
Keywords: Adrenaline; Calcium; Calcium sensitizer; Levosimendan; Modular control analysis; Noninvasive 31P NMR; Perfused heart; System’s biology.