Objective: Ischemic preconditioning (PR) protects hearts from ischemia-reperfusion injury. The purpose of the present study was to examine the protective effect of PR and postconditioning (PT) against hypoxia-reoxygenation injury and H(2)O(2)-induced damage in isolated rat hearts.
Methods and results: Hearts from male Sprague-Dawley rats were perfused with Krebs-Henseleit solution by Langendorff methods and subjected to two protocols. In protocol A, control hearts underwent 45 min of hypoxia and 30 min of reoxygenation. Three PT cycles of 10 s of ischemia and 10 s of reperfusion after 45 min of hypoxia increased the recovery of the pressure-rate product. Three PR cycles of 3 min of ischemia and 5 min of reperfusion before hypoxia were also protective, and decreased the release of glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase. A combination of PR and PT resulted in greater protection than either alone. In protocol B, control hearts underwent perfusion with H(2)O(2) (120 muM) until the left ventricular end-diastolic pressure was elevated to 50 mmHg, and then H(2)O(2) was washed out for 30 min. Three PT cycles of 30 s of ischemia and 30 s of reperfusion before the 30 min washout increased the level of recovery of the pressure-rate product and decreased left ventricular end-diastolic pressure to baseline levels.
Conclusions: The results of the present study indicate that PT protects hearts from hypoxia-reoxygenation injury and H(2)O(2)-induced damage. In addition, PR combined with PT offers more effective protection than PR or PT alone.
Keywords: Hydrogen peroxide; Langendorff perfusion; Postconditioning; Preconditioning.