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R B Jennings

Publications and source records attributed to R B Jennings.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Consequences of brief ischemia: stunning, preconditioning, and their clinical implications: part 2.

In experimental studies in the dog, total proximal coronary artery occlusions of up to 15 minutes result in reversible injury, meaning that the myocytes survive this insult. The 15 minutes of ischemia, however, induce numerous changes in the myocardium, including certain monuments to the brief episode of ischemia that may persist for days. One of these monuments is stunned myocardium, which represents "prolonged postischemic contractile dysfunction of myocardium salvaged by reperfusion." The mechanism of stunning involves generation of oxygen radicals as well as alteration in calcium homeostasis and possibly alteration in contractile protein structure. Stunning has been observed in several clinical scenarios, including after percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty, unstable angina, stress-induced ischemia, after thrombolysis, and after cardiopulmonary bypass. Oxygen radical scavengers and calcium channel blockers have been shown to enhance function of stunned myocardium in experimental studies, and in a few clinical studies, calcium channel blockers have been shown to ameliorate stunning. Although brief periods of ischemia can contribute to prolonged left ventricular dysfunction and even heart failure, they paradoxically play a cardioprotective role. Episodes of ischemia as short as 5 minutes, followed by reperfusion, protect the heart from a subsequent longer coronary artery occlusion by markedly reducing the amount of necrosis that results from the test episode of ischemia. This phenomenon, called ischemic preconditioning, has been observed in virtually every species in which it has been studied and is a powerful cardioprotective effect. The mechanism of ischemic preconditioning involves both triggers and mediators and involves complex second messenger pathways that appear to involve such components as adenosine, adenosine receptors, the epsilon isoform of protein kinase C, the ATP-dependent potassium channels, as well as others, including a paradoxical protective role of oxygen radicals. Both an early and a late phase of preconditioning have been described, and the mechanisms underlying their induction are under investigation. That preconditioning may occur in humans is suggested by the observations that repetitive balloon inflations in the coronary artery are associated with progressively less chest pain, ST-segment elevation, lactate production, the protective effects of preinfarction angina, the anginal "warm-up phenomenon," and studies performed on human cardiac biopsies that show metabolic properties suggesting preconditioning. Development of pharmacological agents that stimulate second messenger pathways thought to be involved in preconditioning, but without causing ischemia, could result in novel approaches to treating ischemia. Hence, on one hand, brief episodes of ischemia can have a negative effect on the heart: stunning; and on the other hand, they have a protective effect: preconditioning. The future challenge is how to minimize the stunning phenomenon and maximize the preconditioning phenomenon in clinical practice.

Animals↗

Consequences of brief ischemia: stunning, preconditioning, and their clinical implications: part 1.

In experimental studies in the dog, total proximal coronary artery occlusions of up to 15 minutes result in reversible injury, meaning that the myocytes survive this insult. The 15 minutes of ischemia, however, induce numerous changes in the myocardium, including certain monuments to the brief episode of ischemia that may persist for days. One of these monuments is stunned myocardium, which represents "prolonged postischemic contractile dysfunction of myocardium salvaged by reperfusion." The mechanism of stunning involves generation of oxygen radicals as well as alteration in calcium homeostasis and possibly alteration in contractile protein structure. Stunning has been observed in several clinical scenarios, including after percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty, unstable angina, stress-induced ischemia, after thrombolysis, and after cardiopulmonary bypass. Oxygen radical scavengers and calcium channel blockers have been shown to enhance function of stunned myocardium in experimental studies, and in a few clinical studies, calcium channel blockers have been shown to ameliorate stunning. Although brief periods of ischemia can contribute to prolonged left ventricular dysfunction and even heart failure, they paradoxically play a cardioprotective role. Episodes of ischemia as short as 5 minutes, followed by reperfusion, protect the heart from a subsequent longer coronary artery occlusion by markedly reducing the amount of necrosis that results from the test episode of ischemia. This phenomenon, called ischemic preconditioning, has been observed in virtually every species in which it has been studied and is a powerful cardioprotective effect. The mechanism of ischemic preconditioning involves both triggers and mediators and involves complex second messenger pathways that appear to involve such components as adenosine, adenosine receptors, the epsilon isoform of protein kinase C, the ATP-dependent potassium channels, as well as others, including a paradoxical protective role of oxygen radicals. Both an early and a late phase of preconditioning have been described, and the mechanisms underlying their induction are under investigation. That preconditioning may occur in humans is suggested by the observations that repetitive balloon inflations in the coronary artery are associated with progressively less chest pain, ST-segment elevation, lactate production, the protective effects of preinfarction angina, the anginal "warm-up phenomenon," and studies performed on human cardiac biopsies that show metabolic properties suggesting preconditioning. Development of pharmacological agents that stimulate second messenger pathways thought to be involved in preconditioning, but without causing ischemia, could result in novel approaches to treating ischemia. Hence, on one hand, brief episodes of ischemia can have a negative effect on the heart: stunning; and on the other hand, they have a protective effect: preconditioning. The future challenge is how to minimize the stunning phenomenon and maximize the preconditioning phenomenon in clinical practice.

Animals↗

Metabolism of preconditioned myocardium: effect of loss and reinstatement of cardioprotection.

Ischemic preconditioning is associated with slower destruction of the adenine nucleotide pool and a slower rate of anaerobic glycolysis during subsequent ischemic stress. Whether this association is causal is uncertain. Using metabolite levels found at baseline and after a 15 min test episode of ischemia, this study tested for concordance, or lack thereof, between the presence or absence of metabolic features v the presence or absence of the preconditioned state. Dogs were assigned to one of four groups: non-preconditioned control (C), full preconditioning (PC) caused by 10 min ischemia (I)+10 min reperfusion (R), dissipated PC (DPC) caused by 10 min I and 180 min R, or reinstated PC in which PC was reinstated in DPC hearts by another 10 min I and 10 min R. At baseline, PC and RPC hearts had a 25% or more decrease in the adenine nucleotide pool (summation operatorAd), a substantial creatine phosphate (CP) overshoot, and a 4-6 times elevation in tissue glucose (G). Of these changes, the decreased summation operatorAd and the CP overshoot persisted during DPC, whereas only G returned to control. Thus, increased G was the only baseline feature, which was concordant with the preconditioned state. The response to ischemic stress in PC and RPC tissue included less lactate production and much less degradation of the summation operatorAd pool to nucleosides and bases than in the C or DPC groups. Thus, slower destruction of the summation operatorAd pool and slower lactate production during ischemia also were concordant with the PC state. The results support the hypothesis that a reduction in energy demand is an essential component of the mechanism of cardioprotection in preconditioned myocardium. However, the mechanism through which ischemic preconditioning results in lower energy demand remains to be established.

Adenine Nucleotides↗

Duration and reinstatement of myocardial protection against infarction by ischemic preconditioning in open chest dogs.

These studies were undertaken to determine the duration of protection against myocardial infarction provided by ischemic preconditioning in the canine heart, and to learn if cardioprotection can be restored by another preconditioning stimulus when the initial effect is lost. Control and four preconditioning groups of anesthetized, open-chest dogs were compared. All underwent a test 60 min episode of ischemia, induced by occlusion of the anterior descending (LAD) artery, followed by 3 h of reperfusion. Preconditioning was induced by one 10 min LAD occlusion, followed by either 10 min, 2, 3, or 5 h of reperfusion. In order to test whether preconditioning could be reinstated, another group of dogs with preconditioning plus 3 h reperfusion underwent a second 10 min preconditioning stimulus with 10 min reperfusion before the 60 min test-occlusion. Infarct size (as percent of area-at-risk) was analyzed (using analysis of covariance) with respect to coronary collateral blood flow measured with radioactive microspheres. Infarct size was limited markedly by preconditioning (23+/-6 v 6+/-2%, P<0.05) but the protective effect was dissipated partially after 2 h reperfusion and was dissipated completely after 3 h reperfusion (20+/-4%, non-significant v Control and significant P<0.05 v preconditioning). Protection was restored in three of six dogs with preconditioning +5 h reperfusion, suggesting that the second window of protection appears early in some canine hearts. When preconditioning was repeated after 3 h reperfusion, cardioprotection was reinstated fully (7+/-2%, P<0.05 v Control and NS v preconditioning). The results show that maximal preconditioning cardioprotection is present in the dog heart after 10 min of reperfusion and is dissipated totally following 3 h of reperfusion. However, a second preconditioning stimulus of 10 min of ischemia followed by 10 min of reperfusion to the dissipated preconditioned heart reinstates full preconditioning. Thus, this model provides a system to test for theoretical causes of the preconditioned state. Final mediators should be present when preconditioning is present and absent when preconditioning is dissipated. It is noteworthy that a second window of protection appeared in 50% of dogs when the period of reperfusion was extended to 5 h.

Animals↗

Role of protein kinase C in preconditioning with ischemia against lethal cell injury.

The PKC hypothesis and its variants are attractive but unproved. The chief difficulty is the lack of an objective means to assess whether or not PKC has been activated in hearts preconditioned in vivo with ischemia or in hearts preconditioned by pharmacologic means. The strongest evidence is supporting the PKC hypothesis in vivo is the prevention of preconditioning with antagonists such as staurosporine. However, these data are weakened by the failure of these agents to eliminate PC in large animal hearts. Since hearts of virtually all mammalian species can be preconditioned, it seems likely that the general mechanism causing it is similar in each and should respond to a strong inhibitor. More work needs to be done.

Animals↗

Premedication with the opioid analgesic butorphanol raises the threshold for ischemic preconditioning in dogs.

Elucidation of the subcellular mechanism of myocardial ischemic preconditioning should be facilitated by precise knowledge of the biology of the cardioprotective response. Any proposed molecular mechanism for preconditioning must be initiated during the required ischemic stress period. The studies reported in this paper were undertaken to determine whether the infarct-limiting effect of four 5-min episodes of ischemia interspersed by reperfusion can be achieved by a single 5-min episode. Adult open-chest mongrel dogs, premedicated with the analgesic butorphanol, and anesthetized with sodium pentobarbital, underwent occlusion of the circumflex coronary artery for 60 min, followed by reperfusion of 3 h. Treated dogs were preconditioned with one, two or four cycles of 5-min occlusion followed by reperfusion. Additional dogs, not premedicated with butorphanol, were either untreated (not preconditioned) or preconditioned with one cycle of ischemia. Infarcts were identified using triphenyl-tetrazolium chloride (TTC) macrochemistry and infarct size (as % of area-at-risk, AAR) was measured and analyzed (using analysis of covariance [ANCOVA]) with respect to coronary collateral blood flow (measured using radioactive microspheres). Four 5-min cycles of preconditioning ischemia markedly limited infarct size. Two cycles were as effective as four. In contrast, infarct size was not different from control infarct size after a single episode of preconditioning ischemia. However, when pentobarbital anesthesia was used without premedication with butorphanol, a single 5-min ischemic stress did induce cardioprotection. Thus, the ischemic stress required for myocardial preconditioning in dogs is dependent on the anesthetic and premedication protocol employed. A single 5-min stimulus is effective in dogs anesthetized with pentobarbital. Premedication with the opioid analgesic, butorphanol, increases the threshold for induction of cardioprotection.

Analgesics, Opioid↗

Effect of reversible ischemia on the activity of the mitochondrial ATPase: relationship to ischemic preconditioning.

The mitochondrial ATPase enzyme accounts for roughly 35-50% of the overall energy demand that leads to ATP depletion under conditions of severe myocardial ischemia. In larger mammalian hearts, this energy squandering action of the ATPase is modulated by an endogenous inhibitor protein. The present studies were undertaken to characterize the time course of inhibition of the mitochondrial ATPase in canine myocardium under conditions of severe regional ischemia in vivo. In addition, we determined if the energy sparing effects of ischemic preconditioning (PC) can be explained by persistent inhibition of the mitochondrial ATPase enzyme. The circumflex coronary artery was ligated for 1.5 min (n = 4), 5 min (n = 6), or 15 min (n = 5). In a separate group (n = 7), hearts were preconditioned by four 5-min periods of ischemia each followed by 5 min of reperfusion. Sub-mitochondrial particles were prepared from the sub-endocardial zone of the ischemic and non-ischemic regions and were assayed for oligomycin-sensitive ATPase activity. ATPase activity was reduced to about 79% at 1.5 min and to approximately 55% at 5 and 15 min of ischemia, relative to non-ischemic tissue from the same heart. The rate of HEP utilization slowed concurrently with the development of ATPase inhibition. In preconditioned myocardium, ATPase activity was not significantly different from control myocardium from the same heart. We conclude that the early inhibition of the mitochondrial ATPase activity slows the utilization of high energy phosphate and thereby serves as an important endogenous cardioprotective mechanism. Nevertheless, altered activity of the ATPase is not the explanation of the energy sparing effect of ischemic preconditioning.

Adenosine Diphosphate↗

Reducing lactate accumulation does not attenuate lethal ischemic injury in isolated perfused rat hearts.

The role of lactate accumulation in lethal ischemic myocardial cell injury was assessed by partially depleting hearts of glycogen before ischemia by using glucagon. Isolated adult rat hearts were perfused with glucose-free Krebs-Henseleit buffer containing acetate as substrate. After stabilization, treated hearts were perfused briefly (3 min) with buffer containing 2 micrograms/ml glucagon to reduce tissue glycogen stores, followed by 10 min of perfusion with control buffer, and 60 or 90 min of global ischemia. Before the onset of ischemia, glucagon-treated hearts contained 40% less glycogen than untreated hearts, but myocardial function and tissue levels of high-energy phosphates, lactate, and glucose 6-phosphate were similar. Lactate production during ischemia in the glucagon-treated hearts was 50% less than in untreated hearts. However, there was no decrease in the amount of creatine kinase release during reperfusion after either 60 or 90 min of ischemia. Thus although partial glycogen depletion reduced lactate accumulation during ischemia, this did not decrease the amount of lethal myocardial cell injury.

Animals↗

Intracoronary administration of the alpha 1-receptor agonist, methoxamine, does not reproduce the infarct-limiting effect of ischemic preconditioning in dogs.

BACKGROUND: The cardioprotective effect of ischemic preconditioning has been hypothesized to occur through one or more signalling mechanisms which activate protein kinase C. Stimulation of alpha 1-adrenergic receptors by catecholamines released during the preconditioning episodes of ischemia is one of these putative signalling mechanisms. METHODS: To determine whether stimulation of alpha 1-adrenergic receptors before an ischemic challenge can mimic preconditioning, anesthetized dogs were treated with 4 intracoronary infusions of methoxamine HCl (10 micrograms/kg/min; n = 8), each 5 min in duration and followed by 5 min of washout. Control dogs (n = 10) were given similar infusions of 0.9% NaCl. A third group of dogs was preconditioned with 4 cycles of 5 min ischemia, each followed by 5 min of reperfusion (n = 8). All dogs then underwent 60 min of ischemia (circumflex coronary occlusion) followed by 3 h of reperfusion. Infarct size (expressed as % of area-at-risk) was measured with TTC macrochemistery and analyzed (using analysis of covariance [ANCOVA]) with respect to coronary collateral blood flow (measured using radioactive microspheres). RESULTS: Methoxamine markedly increased systemic arterial and left atrial pressures prior to but not during the ischemic challenge. Baseline predictors of infarct size were not different among the groups. Mean infarct size (adjusted from ANCOVA) did not differ between control and methoxamine-treated groups, 28.3 +/- 2.8% vs. 29.7 +/- 3.2%, respectively (P = NS), but was only 12.7 +/- 3.2% in the preconditioned group (P < 0.01 vs. control and methoxamine). CONCLUSIONS: A series of methoxamine infusions before an ischemic challenge did not affect infarct size. Thus, stimulation of alpha 1-adrenergic receptors alone is insufficient to mimic the cardioprotective effect of ischemic preconditioning in this canine model.

Adrenergic alpha-Agonists↗

Myocardial beta-adrenergic receptor function and high-energy phosphates in brain death--related cardiac dysfunction.

BACKGROUND: Cardiac failure remains an important problem after heart transplantation and may be associated with events that occur during brain death (BD) before transplantation. In this study, cardiac function is studied after BD, and biochemical evaluation of myocardial high-energy phosphates and the beta-adrenergic receptor system is presented. METHODS AND RESULTS: The hearts of 17 mongrel dogs (23 to 31 kg) were instrumented with flow probes, micromanometers, and ultrasonic dimension transducers to measure ventricular pressure and volume relationships. In a validated canine BD model, systolic right and left ventricular (RV/LV) function was analyzed by load-insensitive measurements during caval occlusion (preload-recruitable stroke work, PRSW). The beta-adrenergic receptor (BAR) density, adenylate cyclase (AC) activity, and myocardial ATP and creatine phosphate (CP) were measured before and 6 to 7 hours after BD. Results are expressed as mean +/- SEM (*P < .05 versus baseline, paired two-tailed Student's t test). Myocardial function deteriorated significantly from baseline PRSW (RV, 22 +/- 1 erg x 10(3); LV, 75 +/- 4 erg x 10(3)) by 37 +/- 10% for the RV (P < .001) and 22 +/- 7% for the LV (P < .001). BAR density increased from 282 +/- 42 to 568 +/- 173 fmol/mg for the RV and from 291 +/- 64 to 353 +/- 56 fmol/mg for the LV. Isoproterenol-stimulated AC activity was also significantly enhanced after BD. ATP and CP, however, remained unchanged after BD compared with baseline values before BD. CONCLUSIONS: BD causes significant systolic biventricular dysfunction. The loss of ventricular function after BD was more prominent in the right ventricle and may contribute to early postoperative RV failure in the recipient. These injuries occurred despite BAR system upregulation after BD. Global myocardial ischemia is unlikely, since ATP and CP remained normal before and after BD.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗

Effect of catecholamine depletion on myocardial infarct size in dogs: role of catecholamines in ischemic preconditioning.

OBJECTIVES: Cardioprotective adaptation to brief periods of ischemia and reperfusion is termed ischemic preconditioning (PC). Limitation of infarct size by preconditioning is associated with marked slowing of ischemic metabolism. The cause of metabolic slowing has not been determined but may involve either pro- or anti-adrenergic mechanisms. Hypothetically, adrenergic stimulation could signal the adaptive response. Alternatively, metabolic slowing during the sustained ischemic challenge could occur through a reduction in beta-adrenergic stimulation. This study was designed to test the role of cardiac norepinephrine (NE) in PC. METHODS: The effect of PC on myocardial infarct size was studied in control dogs and dogs depleted of catecholamines by pretreatment with reserpine (RES; 0.25 mg/kg i.v.). PC was induced by four cycles of 5 min of ischemia and 5 min of reperfusion. Infarcts were produced by 60 min of ischemia and 3 h of reperfusion. Cardiac NE depletion was verified by radioimmunoassay of tissue samples and by absence of hemodynamic response to a tyramine bolus (1.4 mg/kg) administered at the end of each experiment. Infarct size, expressed as percent of area at risk, was controlled for variation in collateral blood flow using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). RESULTS: Adjusted mean infarct size was 25.5 +/- 3.2% in untreated controls vs. 19.1 +/- 3.3% in RES-treated controls (P = NS). PC limited infarct size in untreated dogs (7.4 +/- 1.8 vs. 25.5 +/- 3.2%; PC vs. control; P < 0.01) but not in RES-treated dogs (15.7 +/- 3.0% vs. 19.1 +/- 3.3%; RES + PC vs. RES; P = NS). Infarct size was larger in dogs with RES + PC than with PC alone, even though there was a trend toward a slight beneficial effect with RES alone. CONCLUSION: The cardioprotective effect of ischemic preconditioning cannot be explained entirely as an anti-adrenergic effect. On the contrary, adrenergic receptor stimulation may be required for the full expression of ischemic preconditioning in canine myocardium.

Adrenergic Uptake Inhibitors↗

Myocardial ischemia and reperfusion.

Myocardial infarction is a dynamic process that begins with the transition from reversible to irreversible ischemic injury and culminates in the replacement of dead myocardium by a fibrous scar. Many biochemical and metabolic changes have been observed early after the onset of ischemia, but the precise cause of the transition to irreversibility has not been elucidated. However, disruption of the plasmalemma of the sarcolemma is an early event, the presence of which indicates that the ischemic myocytes are dead. Not all ischemic myocytes become irreversibly injured simultaneously in experimental infarction in the canine heart; rather, myocytes die in a transmural wavefront of cell death proceeding from the subendocardial to the subepicardial myocardium with the subendocardial layer dying first and the subepicardial layer last. About 6 hours of ischemia are required to complete the wave-front. During the reversible phase of ischemic injury, reperfusion salvages all ischemic myocytes in all layers, but once lethal injury begins to develop, reperfusion salvages reversibly injured myocytes that are located chiefly in the subepicardial and midmyocardial layers and thereby limits the transmural extent of infarction. The gradual evolution of cell death in experimental acute ischemia provides a basis for limitation of infarct size by reperfusion with arterial blood in man. Many functions of myocardium subjected to reversible episodes of ischemia return to the control condition a few seconds or minutes after the onset of reperfusion. Others, such as repletion of the adenine nucleotide pool, require hours to days to repair. Reversibly injured myocardium exhibits reduced contractile efficiency, termed stunning, which is a form of reperfusion injury. Stunning is reversible; it disappears after hours or days of reperfusion. Finally, reversibly injured myocardium develops adaptive changes that protect it against subsequent episodes of ischemia. One such change, termed ischemic preconditioning, persists for 1-2 hours and serves to delay the development of cell death if the tissue is subjected to a new prolonged episode of ischemia. Another, heat shock protein synthesis, does not appear until the tissue has been reperfused for 12-24 hours; it also protects the myocardium against subsequent ischemic injury. The molecular mechanisms underlying stunning, ischemic preconditioning, and heat shock protein synthesis remain to be established.

Animals↗

Acute myocardial ischemia: effects of reperfusion with arterial blood.

Periods of severe ischemia of 15 minutes or less injure myocytes of the dog heart reversibly in that reperfusion of the affected tissue with arterial blood salvages all myocytes destined to die if the ischemia is not relieved. While the myocytes are ischemic, they develop numerous changes as a consequence of ischemic metabolism including depletion of approximately P and accumulation of glycolytic intermediates, H+, and the end-products of adenine nucleotide pool degradation. With restoration of arterial flow, aerobic respiration resumes. Lactate and other intermediates are reutilized or are washed to the systemic circulation. If the period of severe ischemia is extended to 40-60 minutes, the injury becomes irreversible. Such myocytes cannot be salvaged by reperfusion with arterial blood and are necrotic. When reperfused, irreversibly injured myocytes develop contraction-band necrosis and accumulate calcium phosphate. Although unproved, it is possible that some myocytes, alive at the time of reperfusion, may die as a consequence of successful reperfusion. This phenomenon is termed lethal reperfusion injury. Sublethal forms of reperfusion injury, such as stunning, also occur.

Acute Disease↗

Superoxide dismutase plus catalase therapy delays neither cell death nor the loss of the TTC reaction in experimental myocardial infarction in dogs.

Studies to test whether superoxide dismutase (SOD), with or without catalase, limits myocardial infarct size have produced conflicting results. Positive results following short periods of reperfusion vs negative results following longer periods of reperfusion could be explained if either: (1) myocytes, initially salvaged by SOD, are killed by continued production of free radicals after the administered SOD have been excreted, or (2) false positive results occur because SOD transiently preserves the TTC reaction, despite loss of cellular viability. To evaluate these two possibilities, we measured infarct size after 90 min of ischemia and 4 h of reperfusion in SOD+catalase treated and untreated dogs. Treated dogs received a 60 min intra-arterial infusion of SOD (15,000 U/kg) plus catalase (CAT) (55,000 U/kg) beginning 25 min before reperfusion. Infarct size was measured using triphenyl tetrazolium (TTC) macrochemistry and was compared with the extent of necrosis assessed semi-quantitatively by light microscopy. Mean infarct size was similar in the control and treated groups. In addition, there was a positive linear correlation (r = 0.95) between the extent of necrosis estimated by microscopy and that estimated by TTC in both groups, and treatment did not alter the regression line. These current results were compared with results from the control dogs from our previous study (Richard et al., 1988) in which 90 min of ischemia was followed by 4 days of reperfusion. TTC-based infarct size at 4 days of reperfusion was similar to that observed in both groups at 4 h. These data indicate that oxygen free radicals, accessible to intravascular SOD and catalase, are not a cause of myocyte death detectable by measurement of infarct size after 4 h of reperfusion. Moreover, neither an "early protection, delayed death" hypothesis nor a specific preservation of the TTC reaction explain the positive results of other studies. TTC macrochemistry provides reliable estimates of myocardial infarct size, provided that sufficient magnification is used to permit resolution of interdigitating peninsulas of viable and necrotic tissue.

Animals↗

Cardiac protection by ischaemic preconditioning is not mediated by myocardial stunning.

OBJECTIVE: Previous studies have shown that cardiac protection by ischaemic preconditioning wanes before contractile function recovers; thus stunning is insufficient to cause preconditioning. To test whether reduced contractile effort is necessary for preconditioning induced protection, the effect on myocardial infarct size of restoring contractile function with dobutamine was examined in preconditioned and control dogs. METHODS: In two experimental groups (groups P and P+D), preconditioning was produced by four 5 min occlusions of the left anterior descending coronary artery, each separated by 5 min of reperfusion. Contractile function was assessed by sonomicrometry 5 min after completion of the preconditioning protocol. In group P+D, dobutamine (average dose = 5 micrograms.kg-1.min-1) was then infused intravenously to restore systolic shortening to baseline. The artery then was reoccluded for 40 min of sustained ischaemia followed by 4 d of reperfusion. Two additional groups of non-preconditioned control dogs (groups C and C+D) also underwent 40 min of coronary occlusion and 4 d of reperfusion. Group C+D received a dobutamine infusion beginning 15 min before and during the 40 min occlusion to match the dobutamine received in group P+D, whereas group C received normal saline. RESULTS: Preconditioning caused mild postischaemic contractile dysfunction (50% decrease in systolic shortening) which was easily reversed by dobutamine treatment. Dobutamine also increased both the rate-pressure product and the left ventricular dP/dt in both treated groups (C+D and P+D). Histological infarct size was 12.3(SEM 2.0)% of the area at risk in the untreated control group (n = 11), and was reduced to 4.4(1.7)% in the untreated preconditioning group (n = 8; p < 0.05). Dobutamine increased non-preconditioned infarct size (group C+D) to 22.1(3.4)% (n = 7; p < 0.05). Infarct size in the dobutamine treated preconditioning group (P+D) was not significantly different from infarct size in group P (n = 8), at 6.1(2.5%). CONCLUSIONS: In preconditioned hearts, dobutamine restored postischaemic contractile function but did not increase infarct size significantly. Thus reduced contractile effort is not required for the cardioprotective effect on ischaemic preconditioning.

Animals↗

Adenosine slows ischaemic metabolism in canine myocardium in vitro: relationship to ischaemic preconditioning.

OBJECTIVE: Studies in rabbits suggest that the cardioprotective effects of adenosine against lethal cell injury may be related to production of adenosine and subsequent activation of adenosine A1 receptors. However, it is not known whether intracoronary adenosine therapy can mimic the metabolic sparing effects of preconditioning in rabbits or dogs. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of intracoronary adenosine on ischaemic metabolism in totally ischaemic canine myocardium. METHODS: Dog hearts (n = 13) were excised and the coronary arteries were perfused with an oxygenated Krebs' buffer containing glucose. Adenosine was added to the buffer perfusing the circumflex (treated) region. Following perfusion, control and treated beds from each heart were subjected to 90 min total ischaemia at 37 degrees C. Tissue levels of ATP and glycolytic intermediates were determined at several time points during the ischaemic incubation. RESULTS: Adenosine significantly slowed the rate of ATP depletion, glycogen utilisation, and lactate accumulation during the first 20 minutes of total ischaemia. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that adenosine is capable of slowing ischaemic metabolism and they are consistent with the hypothesis that adenosine may mediate ischaemic preconditioning.

Adenosine↗

Effect of anti-CD18 antibody on myocardial neutrophil accumulation and infarct size after ischemia and reperfusion in dogs.

BACKGROUND: Polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMNs) accumulate in postischemic myocardium and may cause injury to myocardium or to vessels by production of oxygen free radicals or by release of proteases and lipases. PMN accumulation is dependent on adherence to endothelium, which is mediated by a family of glycoproteins on the PMN surface, each of which has a common beta-subunit (CD18). The purpose of this study was to determine whether an antibody (IB4) against the CD18 protein could attenuate PMN accumulation and limit myocardial infarct size. METHODS AND RESULTS: F(ab')2 fragments of a mouse monoclonal antibody to human adherence-promoting leukocyte glycoprotein (CD18) were used. Infarct size after 90 minutes of ischemia and 3 hours of reperfusion was compared in dogs with (n = 8) and without (n = 8) the anti-CD18 treatment. Myocardial PMN accumulation was assessed with 111In-labeled autologous PMNs. Anti-CD18 treatment significantly reduced the number of PMNs in the ischemic region (19,123 +/- 5,352/mg versus 5,204 +/- 927/mg in the control and treated groups, respectively; p < 0.05). In addition, the ratio of myocardial blood flow (ischemic/nonischemic wall) at 45 minutes into reperfusion was higher in the treated than in the control group (1.18 +/- 0.18 versus 0.69 +/- 0.09; p < 0.05). Nevertheless, infarct size was similar between the control and treated groups (40.5 +/- 7.4% versus 48.5 +/- 4.4% of the area at risk; p = NS). Transmural mean collateral blood flow to the ischemic myocardium was similar between the two groups, and the inverse relation between infarct size and collateral blood flow was not shifted by anti-CD18 therapy. CONCLUSIONS: Although PMN accumulation contributed to reduced postischemic microvascular perfusion, it caused insufficient additional myocardial cell death to measurably affect infarct size in this model.

Animals↗