The purpose of this study was to determine if del Nido cardioplegia provides superior protection for aged and young adult hearts. We used our isolated working heart model of cardioplegic arrest and reperfusion to compare functional recovery in both senescent and young adult rat hearts, with delivery of del Nido or our standard cardioplegia. In the aged hearts, use of del Nido cardioplegia prevented spontaneous contractions during arrest, reduced troponin release, and provided superior functional recovery during working heart. In contrast, in the young adult hearts, although stroke work was higher in the del Nido group, there were no significant differences in spontaneous activity, troponin release, and cardiac output between del Nido and standard cardioplegia, suggesting that del Nido cardioplegia did not provide superior functional recovery in the young adult heart. Del Nido cardioplegia has the potential to provide superior myocardial protection for elderly patients undergoing cardiac surgery.

Superoxide dismutase scavenges oxygen radicals, which have been implicated in ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury in the heart. Our experiments were designed to study the effect of a moderate increase of copper/zinc superoxide dismutase (CuZnSOD) on myocardial I/R injury in TgN(SOD1)3Cje transgenic mice. A species of 0.8 kb human CuZnSOD mRNA was expressed, and a 273% increase in CuZnSOD activity was detected in the hearts of transgenic mice with no changes in the activities of other antioxidant enzymes. Furthermore, immunoblot analysis revealed no changes in the levels of HSP-70 or HSP-25 levels. Immunocytochemical study indicated that there was increased labeling of CuZnSOD in the cytosolic fractions of both endothelial cells and smooth muscle cells, but not in the myocytes of the hearts from transgenic mice. When these hearts were perfused as Langendorff preparations for 45 min after 35 min of global ischemia, the functional recovery of the hearts, expressed as heart rate x LVDP, was 48 ± 3% in the transgenic hearts as compared to 30 ± 5% in the nontransgenic hearts (p < .05). The improved cardiac function was accompanied by a significant reduction in lactate dehydrogenase release from the transgenic hearts. Our results demonstrate that overexpression of CuZnSOD in coronary vascular cells renders the heart more resistant to I/R injury.

The effect of cold acclimation on body of mammals has been studied for many decades by using relatively low temperatures for acclimation (6-10 řC). The results of these experiments have shown the important role of the adrenergic and thyroid system during acclimation and negative impact on renal system at the same time. In contrast, a recent study on winter swimmers suggests a possibility of positive influence of hardening on cardiovascular system. There is no available study investigating a relationship between cold adaptation and ischemia-reperfusion injury. The aim of this study was to establish a protocol of isolated rat heart and its fixation at our workplace. Furthermore, to find the impact of mild cold acclimation on the ischemia-reperfusion injury of rat. Methods of ex vivo heart perfusion and fixation were successfully established. The effect of 5 weeks long cold acclimation in 10 ± 2 řC on left ventricle ischemia-reperfusion injury was observed. Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)