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C E Murry

Publications and source records attributed to C E Murry.

47 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

Evaluation of free radical injury in myocardium.

Abundant evidence now is available that free radicals are produced in excess when myocardium is reperfused following an episode of ischemia and that free radicals can injure myocytes and endothelial cells. Free radicals may contribute to either reversible or irreversible manifestations of cell injury from ischemia and reperfusion. Several investigators have observed that post-ischemic contractile dysfunction (myocardial stunning) can be attenuated by a variety of anti-free radical therapies, and there seems to be general agreement that free radical injury contributes to stunning. Whether free radicals are an important cause of lethal myocyte injury ("lethal reperfusion injury") remains controversial. Using similar interventions and animal models, both positive and negative results have been reported from a growing number of studies done to test the effect of anti-free radical therapies on infarct size. Proposed explanations include differences in: 1) dose of drug and onset or duration of treatment, 2) duration of occlusion or reperfusion, 3) methods of measuring infarct size or area at risk, and 4) failure of some studies to control for baseline variation in the major determinants of infarct size, e.g., collateral blood flow. At present, none of these explanations seems sufficient to resolve the question.

Animals↗

Development of cell injury in sustained acute ischemia.

Sudden induction of ischemia by occlusion of a major branch of a coronary artery in mammalian heart sets into motion a series of events that culminates in the death of markedly ischemic myocytes. The changes begin within 8-10 seconds of occlusion and include 1) cessation of aerobic metabolism, 2) depletion of creatine phosphate, 3) onset of anaerobic glycolysis (AG), and 4) accumulation of products of anoxic metabolism in the ischemic tissue. Functional defects appear simultaneously, including depressed contractile activity and electrocardiographic changes. The demand of the ischemic myocytes for energy exceeds the supply of high-energy phosphate (approximately P) possible from AG; as a consequence, myocyte adenosine diphosphate increases, and adenylate kinase is activated to capture the approximately P bond of adenosine diphosphate. Adenosine monophosphate is a product of this reaction; it accumulates and is progressively degraded to nucleosides and bases that are lost from the myocyte. The pace of development of the short-term metabolic changes slows after 40-60 minutes of ischemia, at which time most of the severely ischemic myocytes are irreversibly injured. Early in the irreversible phase of injury tissue is characterized as follows by: 1) very low approximately P content (creatine phosphate less than 1-2% and adenosine triphosphate less than 10% of control), 2) a depressed adenine nucleotide pool that consists principally of adenosine monophosphate, 3) virtual cessation of AG, 4) low pH and low glycogen content, 5) high inosine and hypoxanthine contents, 6) a markedly increased osmolar load consisting chiefly of lactate, and 7) characteristic ultrastructural changes including cell swelling and evidence of generalized mitochondrial and marked sarcolemmal damage. Sarcolemmal disruption is the feature that we hypothesize causes irreversibility; however, its pathogenesis is unknown.

Acute Disease↗

The xanthine oxidase inhibitor oxypurinol does not limit infarct size in a canine model of 40 minutes of ischemia with reperfusion.

Free radicals such as superoxide (.O2-) produced by xanthine oxidase might cause cell death during reperfusion after myocardial ischemia. The effect of the xanthine oxidase inhibitor allopurinol on infarct size in ischemia-reperfusion models has been variable, possibly because of differences in treatment duration. Adequate inhibition of xanthine oxidase may require a sufficient pretreatment period to permit conversion of allopurinol to oxypurinol, the actual inhibitor of superoxide production. To test more definitively whether xanthine oxidase-derived free radicals cause cell death during reperfusion, the effect of oxypurinol on infarct size was evaluated in an ischemia-reperfusion model. Open chest dogs underwent 40 min of circumflex coronary artery occlusion followed by reperfusion for 4 days. Twelve dogs were treated with oxypurinol (10 mg/kg body weight intravenously 10 min before occlusion and 10 mg/kg intravenously 10 min before reperfusion) and 11 control dogs received drug vehicle alone (pH 10 normal saline solution). Nine control dogs from a concurrent study also were included. Infarct size was measured histologically and analyzed with respect to its major baseline predictors, including anatomic area at risk and collateral blood flow (measured with radioactive microspheres). Infarct size as a percent of the area at risk averaged 23.8 +/- 2.7% (mean +/- SEM) in the oxypurinol group (n = 10) and 23.1 +/- 4.2% in the control group (n = 17) (p = NS). Collateral blood flow to the inner two thirds of the ischemic wall averaged 0.08 +/- 0.01 ml/min per g in the oxypurinol group and 0.09 +/- 0.02 ml/min per g in the control group.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗

Myocardial neutrophil accumulation during reperfusion after reversible or irreversible ischemic injury.

Recent studies suggest that polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs) may cause additional myocyte injury during reperfusion of ischemic myocardium. The present study was done to investigate whether PMNs accumulate in myocardium during early reperfusion after reversible or irreversible ischemic injury. Open-chest anesthetized dogs underwent circumflex coronary occlusions for 12 min (n = 5), 40 min (n = 8), or 90 min (n = 8), followed by 1 h of reperfusion. Autologous PMNs were radiolabeled with 111In and reinjected to quantitate myocardial PMN influx during reflow. 125I-labeled albumin was injected simultaneously to correct for 111In associated with plasma proteins in myocardial tissue. The number of PMNs was determined in the inner, middle, and outer one-third of nonischemic and ischemic-reperfused myocardium. In the 12-min group, 40% fewer PMNs were present in the reperfused than in the nonischemic control tissue. In contrast, in both the 40- and 90-min groups, PMN accumulation was two- to sixfold greater in the ischemic-reperfused than nonischemic myocardium, with a transmural gradient of PMN influx increasing from the outer to inner layers. Collateral blood flow, measured with radioactive microspheres, was not significantly different among the three groups. The failure of PMNs to accumulate during reperfusion after 12 min of ischemia does not support the hypothesis that PMNs contribute to postischemic dysfunction of reversibly injured myocytes. Whether PMNs caused cell death during early reperfusion after longer ischemic episodes remains unknown; however, the rapidity of PMN accumulation in the zones of predicted infarction is consistent with this possibility.

Animals↗

Therapy to reduce free radicals during early reperfusion does not limit the size of myocardial infarcts caused by 90 minutes of ischemia in dogs.

It has been postulated that oxygen-centered free radicals are produced in significant quantities upon reperfusion of ischemic myocardium and could cause the death of myocytes that are still reversibly injured at the end of ischemia ("reperfusion injury"). However, we have shown previously that anti-free radical therapies including superoxide dismutase (SOD) and inhibitors of xanthine oxidase did not limit infarct size after 40 minutes of ischemia and 4 days of reperfusion in dogs. To test whether 40 minutes of ischemia is too brief a period to produce the prerequisite conditions for free radical-mediated necrosis upon reperfusion, we studied infarcts produced by 90 minutes of ischemia followed by reperfusion. Dogs in an SOD-catalase group received a 60-minute infusion of SOD (15,000 units/kg) and catalase (55,000 units/kg) beginning 25 minutes before and ending 35 minutes after reperfusion. A second group of dogs received a single injection of the xanthine oxidase inhibitor oxypurinol (20 mg/kg) 25 minutes before reperfusion. Infarct size was assessed histologically relative to the size of the area at risk and to collateral blood flow to the ischemic region. Infarct size as a percentage of the area at risk was similar in the control group (40.7 +/- 5.5%, n = 11), the SOD-catalase group (38.0 +/- 6.4%; n = 8), and the oxypurinol-treated group (41.4 +/- 6.1%; n = 7) [p = not significant (NS) by analysis of variance]. In controls, there was an inverse relation between infarct size and collateral blood flow; neither of the treatments altered this relation (p = NS by analysis of covariance).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗

Failure of superoxide dismutase to limit size of myocardial infarction after 40 minutes of ischemia and 4 days of reperfusion in dogs.

Reactive oxygen species such as the superoxide anion (.O2-) have recently been implicated as important agents involved in causing cell death in the setting of myocardial ischemia and reperfusion. When superoxide anion is involved in ischemic injury the administration of superoxide dismutase (SOD) may limit infarct size by reducing the level of superoxide anions in the myocardium. The study described herein was done to determine whether SOD could limit myocardial infarct size when infarcts were produced in dogs by a 40 min occlusion of the circumflex coronary artery followed by 4 days of reperfusion. The animals in the SOD treatment group received a 1 hr intra-atrial infusion of SOD, at a rate of 250 U/kg/min starting 15 min after occlusion and ending 35 min after reperfusion; control dogs received a saline infusion over the same time frame. Infarct size was determined histologically and expressed as a percentage of the anatomic area at risk (AAR). Infarct size was similar in the two groups, averaging 26.2 +/- 2.5% in the control group (n = 10) and 21.1 +/- 4.8% in the SOD group (n = 11) (p = .40). Hemodynamic variables were not statistically different in the two groups during the occlusion. The transmural mean collateral blood flow at 10 min into the 40 min occlusion was 0.13 +/- 0.02 ml/min/g in the controls and 0.17 +/- 0.03 ml/min/g in the SOD group (p = NS); moreover, SOD did not alter collateral blood flow. In control dogs, infarct size was inversely related to collateral blood flow; analysis of covariance showed that SOD did not shift this relationship. Thus, SOD did not limit infarct size in this study. The results of the current study are consistent with our previous study in which allopurinol, a xanthine oxidase inhibitor, did not limit infarct size in this same experimental preparation. The results suggest that superoxide anions that are accessible to the infused SOD are not a major cause of myocyte death caused by 40 min of severe ischemia followed by reperfusion.

Animals↗

Four brief periods of myocardial ischemia cause no cumulative ATP loss or necrosis.

The effect of repetitive periods of coronary occlusion on myocardial adenine nucleotides, lactate, and infarct size was studied. In one series of dogs, the circumflex artery was occluded for one, two, or four 10-min episodes, each separated by 20 min of reperfusion. Hearts were excised and sampled for metabolic assays after one or more periods of ischemia before or after reperfusion. One 10-min period of ischemia caused a 61% loss of ATP and 41% loss of adenine nucleotides from the most severely ischemic subendocardial zone. Reperfusion resulted in rapid restoration of the adenylate charge but in only slight repletion of the adenine nucleotide pool. However, two or even four 10-min periods of ischemia caused no further adenine nucleotide loss. In contrast, 40 min of continuous coronary occlusion caused an 87% depletion of ATP and 67% of the adenine nucleotide pool from the same subendocardial region. Collateral blood flow was similar during all occlusions, but lactate accumulation was less during later occlusions. In a second series of experiments, myocardial necrosis was quantitated 4 days after four 10-min periods of ischemia. Necrosis was observed in only one of six dogs and, in this dog, was only 1.5% of the anatomic area at risk. Thus intermittent reperfusion prevents cumulative metabolic deficits and myocardial ischemic cell death, perhaps by restoring the capacity for high-energy phosphate (HEP) production and/or washing out deleterious catabolites. A first episode of ischemia also slows HEP utilization in subsequent episodes.

Adenosine Diphosphate↗

Preconditioning with ischemia: a delay of lethal cell injury in ischemic myocardium.

We have previously shown that a brief episode of ischemia slows the rate of ATP depletion during subsequent ischemic episodes. Additionally, intermittent reperfusion may be beneficial to the myocardium by washing out catabolites that have accumulated during ischemia. Thus, we proposed that multiple brief ischemic episodes might actually protect the heart from a subsequent sustained ischemic insult. To test this hypothesis, two sets of experiments were performed. In the first set, one group of dogs (n = 7) was preconditioned with four 5 min circumflex occlusions, each separated by 5 min of reperfusion, followed by a sustained 40 min occlusion. The control group (n = 5) received a single 40 min occlusion. In the second study, an identical preconditioning protocol was followed, and animals (n = 9) then received a sustained 3 hr occlusion. Control animals (n = 7) received a single 3 hr occlusion. Animals were allowed 4 days of reperfusion thereafter. Histologic infarct size then was measured and was related to the major baseline predictors of infarct size, including the anatomic area at risk and collateral blood flow. In the 40 min study, preconditioning with ischemia paradoxically limited infarct size to 25% of that seen in the control group (p less than .001). Collateral blood flows were not significantly different in the two groups. In the 3 hr study, there was no difference between infarct size in the preconditioned and control groups. The protective effect of preconditioning in the 40 min study may have been due to reduced ATP depletion and/or to reduced catabolite accumulation during the sustained occlusion. These results suggest that the multiple anginal episodes that often precede myocardial infarction in man may delay cell death after coronary occlusion, and thereby allow for greater salvage of myocardium through reperfusion therapy.

Animals↗

Three-dimensional distribution of collateral blood flow within the anatomic area at risk after circumflex coronary artery occlusion in dogs.

It is generally accepted that occlusion of a major coronary artery in the dog results in a transmural gradient of collateral blood flow, with the subepicardial region receiving the greatest perfusion. The lateral and base to apex distribution of collateral blood flow and of metabolic and functional consequences of ischemia have been more difficult to define. One reason for such difficulties has been the failure to define the anatomic boundaries of the ischemic vascular bed so that uncontaminated samples of ischemic and non-ischemic tissue could be selected for study. In the present study, the three dimensional distribution of myocardial blood flow during occlusion of the circumflex artery was mapped in seven dogs. At the end of the study, the boundaries of previously ischemic and non-ischemic regions were identified by simultaneous coronary perfusion with red and blue dyes. Left ventricular slices were separated into ischemic and non-ischemic vascular beds based on the dye boundaries, with 1-2 mm of tissue trimmed from this interface to eliminate visually apparent admixture. The ischemic vascular bed of each cross sectional slice then was cut into five transmural wedges, each 3-5 mm wide; each wedge was further subdivided into subendocardial, middle, and subepicardial thirds. The results of blood flow measurements in these samples indicate that the dye injection technique identifies a real interface with a sharp lateral transition in blood flow between ischemic and non-ischemic vascular beds. Within the ischemic vascular bed, there is a transmural gradient of collateral blood flow, but within a given mural layer, there is no consistent gradient from the center to lateral edge or from base to apex of the ischemic region. Thus, in studies designed to characterize the properties of myocardium on either side of the ischemic/non-ischemic interface, reasonable resolution can be achieved by coronary dye infusions to permit visual identification of this interface. On the other hand, in studies in which collateral blood flow is measured as a baseline predictor of infarct size, measurements can be made in a central ischemic block which will be representative of most or all of the ischemic region. Borderzone samples can be excluded to avoid contamination of ischemic samples with non-ischemic tissue.

Animals↗

Transmural replacement of myocardium after skeletal myoblast grafting into the heart. Too much of a good thing?

Skeletal myoblasts form stable grafts in the heart and may improve myocardial performance after infarction. The current study compared the ability of different immortalized myoblast lines, or primary myoblast isolates, to form grafts in the normal or cryoinjured heart. With a constant dose of 6 x 10(6) cells, primary rat myoblasts and mouse C2C12 myoblasts formed similarly large skeletal muscle grafts in recipient rat hearts. Grafts often caused transmural replacement of the myocardium in normal hearts and almost completely replaced the damaged region in cryoinjured hearts. To test for possible artifacts due to immunosuppression and xenografting (mouse C2C12 cells into rat hearts), we grafted 1 x 10(6) mouse MM14 or C2C12 myoblasts into normal hearts of nude mice. Again, the C2C12 grafts caused transmural replacement of the left ventricular wall and distorted the epi- and endocardial contours. The MM14 cells, however, formed relatively small grafts. The C2C12 grafts showed substantially higher BrdU incorporation rates at day 4 compared with MM14 cells, suggesting that ongoing proliferation was responsible for the increased graft size. None of the three skeletal muscle cell types expressed detectable amounts of the gap junction protein connexin43 after grafting. The intercellular adhesion protein N-cadherin was not expressed in primary skeletal muscle grafts, but was spotty or abundant in C2C12- and MM14-derived grafts, respectively. The absence of connexin43 precluded electrical coupling between graft and host muscle cells. Thus, when sufficient amounts of proliferation occur after grafting, skeletal muscle cells can effectively replace the volume of lost myocardium. Excess proliferation, however, can cause grafts to expand the ventricular wall and possibly impair pump function. Optimal cardiac repair strategies may need to incorporate methods to control graft cell proliferation.

Animals↗