Backtable heat-enhanced preconditioning: a simple and effective means of improving function of heart transplants.

Background: Cardiac harvest teams are usually committed to immediately transfer the explanted donor heart into its cold storage solution. We tested the opposite hypothesis that a brief prestorage episode of heat-enhanced ischemic preconditioning could be protective.

Methods: Fifty-three isolated isovolumic rat hearts underwent 4 hours of cold (4 degrees C) storage in the Celsior preservation solution and 2 hours of reperfusion.

Ischemic preconditioning with opening of mitochondrial adenosine triphosphate-sensitive potassium channels or Na/H exchange inhibition: which is the best protective strategy for heart transplants?

Objective: This study was designed to compare ischemic preconditioning with opening of mitochondrial adenosine triphosphate-sensitive potassium channels and Na(+)/H(+) exchange inhibition in an isolated heart model of cold storage, simulating the situation of cardiac allografts.

Methods: Sixty-seven isolated isovolumic buffer-perfused rat hearts were arrested with and stored in Celsior solution (Imtix-Sangstat) at 4 degrees C for 4 hours before a 2-hour reperfusion. Group I hearts served as controls and were arrested with and stored in Celsior solution.

Cardiac functional improvement by a human Bcl-2 transgene in a mouse model of ischemia/reperfusion injury.

Background: Apoptosis has been shown to contribute to myocardial reperfusion injury. It has been suggested that, in reducing the apoptotic component within the ischemic area at risk, Bcl-2 overexpression could lead to a ventricular function improvement.

Methods: Transgenic mice overexpressing the anti-apoptotic human Bcl-2 cDNA in heart were subjected to a 1-h left coronary artery occlusion followed by a 24-h reperfusion.

Opening of mitochondrial potassium channels: a new target for graft preservation strategies?

Background: This study was designed to assess the protective effects of the mitochondrial adenosine triphosphate-sensitive potassium channel (KATP) opener diazoxide as an additive to heart preservation solution.

Methods: Forty isolated isovolumic buffer-perfused rat hearts were divided into four groups. Groups I and III hearts were arrested with and cold-stored in Celsior solution for 4 hr and 10 hr, respectively.

Different regulation of cardiac and renal corticosteroid receptors in aldosterone-salt treated rats: effect of hypertension and glucocorticoids.

This study analysed the regulation of cardiac mineraloreceptor (MR) and glucoreceptor (GR) in aldosterone-salt treatment (AST). AST causes hypertension, left ventricle (LV) hypertrophy and decreases plasma corticosterone level. Ribonuclease protection assay and Western blot analysis showed a rise of MR mRNA (1.