PubMed Health⌕ Search

PubMed · 2051766

Verapamil improves rat hepatic preservation with UW solution.

Abstract

Verapamil, a calcium channel blocker, improves myocardial preservation during cold cardioplegia and protects against renal damage during periods of warm and cold ischemia. To determine if verapamil could prevent ischemic damage to livers during and after cold storage, harvested rat livers were flushed with either University of Wisconsin (UW) solution or UW solution with 25 mg/liter verapamil. Twenty rats were used in each group. After 24 hr of storage at 4 degrees C, livers were perfused with oxygenated blood through the portal veins for 2 hr at 37 degrees C and pH 7.4. Liver enzymes, electrolytes, and perfusate flow rate were determined at 30-min intervals. At 90 min of perfusion, the verapamil group of livers had less elevation of AST (110 +/- 17 IU/liter vs 172 +/- 25 IU/liter, P less than 0.05), ALT (115 +/- 21 IU/liter vs 210 +/- 34 IU/liter, P less than 0.05), and LDH (962 +/- 170 IU/liter vs 1452 +/- 253 IU/liter, NS). Verapamil livers produced more bile than controls (6.9 +/- 1.9 microliters/g vs 2.3 +/- 1.7 microliter/g, P less than 0.05) and maintained a higher portal flow rate throughout the perfusion. Both groups showed similar reduction in liver weights after storage (3.9 +/- 0.9% vs 2.8 +/- 0.7%) and required the same amount of bicarbonate for correction of acidosis during perfusion (2.6 +/- 0.2 mM vs 2.8 +/- 0.2 mM). Light microscopic exam after perfusion showed hepatocyte damage in 30% of control livers, but 0% of verapamil livers. We conclude that verapamil-treated rat livers showed less damage and better function upon reperfusion after 24 hr of cold storage. This agent may be clinically useful as an additive to the UW preservation solution for livers.

Explore related subjects

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeXRIS

S Cheng, J R Ragsdale, A W Sasaki, R G Lee, C W Deveney, C W Pinson. 1991. Verapamil improves rat hepatic preservation with UW solution.. https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-4804(91)90041-j

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related citations

Solution structure of domain 6 from a self-splicing group II intron ribozyme: a Mg(2+) binding site is located close to the stacked branch adenosine.

Group II intron self-splicing is essential for the correct expression of organellar genes in plants, fungi, and yeast, as well as of bacterial genes. Self-excision of these autocatalytic introns from the primary RNA transcript is achieved in a two-step mechanism that is apparently analogous to that of the eukaryotic spliceosome. The 2'-OH of a conserved adenosine (the branch point) located within domain 6 (D6) acts as the nucleophile in the first step of splicing. Despite the biological importance of group II introns, little is known about their structural organization and usage of metal ions in catalysis. Here we report the first solution structure of a catalytically active D6 construct encompassing the branch point and the neighboring helical regions from the mitochondrial yeast intron ai5gamma. The branch adenosine is the single unpaired nucleotide, and, in contrast to the spliceosomal branch site, resides within the helix, being partially stacked between two flanking GU wobble pairs. We identified a novel prominent Mg(2+) binding site in the major groove of the branch site. Importantly, Mg(2+) addition does not impair the stacking of the branch adenosine, rather it strengthens the interaction with the flanking uridines, as shown by NMR and fluorescence studies. This means that domain 6 presents the branch adenosine in a stacked fashion to the core of group II introns upon folding to the active conformation.

Adenosine↗

Synthesis and biological evaluation of novel 1-deoxy-1-[6-[((hetero)arylcarbonyl)hydrazino]- 9H-purin-9-yl]-N-ethyl-beta-D-ribofuranuronamide derivatives as useful templates for the development of A2B adenosine receptor agonists.

The lack of molecules endowed with selective and potent agonistic activity toward the hA2B adenosine receptors has limited the studies on this pharmacological target and consequently the evaluation of its therapeutic potential. We report the design and the synthesis of the first potent (EC50 in the nanomolar range) and selective hA2B adenosine receptor agonists consisting of 1-deoxy-1-[6-[((hetero)arylcarbonyl)hydrazino]-9H-purin-9-yl]-N-ethyl-beta-D-ribofuranuronamide derivatives. The concurrent effect of 6-substitution of the purine nucleus with a ((hetero)arylcarbonyl)hydrazino function and a 2-chloro substitution has been investigated in such NECA derivatives.

Adenosine↗

Enhanced CXCL1 production and angiogenesis in adenosine-mediated lung disease.

Angiogenesis is a feature of chronic lung diseases such as asthma and pulmonary fibrosis; however, the pathways controlling pathological angiogenesis during lung disease are not completely understood. Adenosine is a signaling molecule that has been implicated in the exacerbation of chronic lung disease and in the regulation of angiogenesis; however, the relationship between these factors has not been investigated. The current study utilized adenosine deaminase (ADA)-deficient mice to determine whether chronic elevations in adenosine in vivo result in pulmonary angiogenesis. Results demonstrate substantial angiogenesis in the tracheas of ADA-deficient mice in association with adenosine elevations. ADA replacement enzyme therapy resulted in a lowering of adenosine levels and reversal of tracheal angiogenesis, indicating that the increases in vessel number are dependent on adenosine elevations. Levels of the angiogenic chemokine CXCL1 (mouse functional homologue of human IL-8) were found to be elevated in an adenosine-dependent manner in the lungs of ADA-deficient mice. Neutralization of CXCL1 and its receptor, CXCR2, resulted in the inhibition of angiogenic activity, which suggests that CXCL1 signaling through the CXCR2 receptor mediated the observed increases in angiogenesis. Our findings suggest that adenosine plays an important role, via CXCL1, in the induction of pulmonary angiogenesis.

Adenosine↗