Effects of aprindine on ischemia/reperfusion-induced cardiac contractile dysfunction of perfused rat heart

Effect of reoxygenation on the electrical stability of the rat heart in vivo: a chronobiological study

Reoxygenation following hypoxic episodes can increase the risk for the development of ventricular arrhythmias, which, in addition to circadian aspects of reoxygenation arrhythmias has not been studied extensively. The aim of the present study was to evaluate circadian changes in the electrical stability of the rat heart during reoxygenation following a hypoventilatory episode. The electrical stability of the heart, defined in the present study as the ventricular arrhythmia threshold (VAT), was measured at 3 h intervals at clock times 09:00, 12:00, 15:00, 18:00, 21:00, 24:00, 03:00, 06:00 and 09:00 during 20 min hypoventilation (20 breaths/min, tidal volume = 0.5 ml/100 g body weight [n=17]) and subsequent 20 min reoxygenation (50 breaths/min, tidal volume = 1 ml/100 g body weight [n=4]) intervals. The experiments were performed using pentobarbital-anesthetized (40 mg/kg intraperitoneally) female Wistar rats that first underwent a four-week adaptation to a 12 h light:12 h dark regimen. Detailed analysis showed that circadian VATs changed to biphasic rhythms at 10 min of hypoventilation. The VAT circadian rhythms were observed immediately following the commencement of reoxygenation, with the highest values measured between 12:00 and 15:00, and the lowest values between 24:00 and 03:00. These results suggest that myocardial vulnerability is dependent on the light:dark cycle and characteristics of pulmonary ventilation.

Na+ overload-induced mitochondrial damage in the ischemic heart

Ischemia induces a decrease in myocardial contractility that may lead more or less to contractile dysfunction in the heart. When the duration of ischemia is relatively short, myocardial contractility is immediately reversed to control levels upon reperfusion. In contrast, reperfusion induces myocardial cell death when the heart is exposed to a prolonged period of ischemia. This phenomenon is the so-called "reperfusion injury". Numerous investigators have reported the mechanisms underlying myocardial reperfusion injury such as generation of free radicals, disturbance in the intracellular ion homeostasis, and lack of energy for contraction. Despite a variety of investigations concerning the mechanisms for ischemia and ischemia–reperfusion injury, ionic disturbances have been proposed to play an important role in the genesis of the ischemia–reperfusion injury. In this present study, we focused on the contribution of Na+ overload and mitochondrial dysfunction during ischemia to the genesis of this ischemia–reperfusion injury.Key words: mitochondria, myocardial ischemia, Na+ channels, Na+/H+ exchanger, Na+ overload.