Adenosine pretreatment has been shown to be beneficial in several models of
ischemia-reperfusion. We wished to evaluate whether
adenosine pretreatment is cardioprotective for prolonged cardiac storage and whether the presence of
adenosine in the storage media affects the results. Isolated rodent hearts were obtained from Sprague-Dawley rats, mounted on a Langendorff apparatus, instrumented with an intraventricular balloon, and ventricularly paced at 300 beats/min. Four groups of hearts were studied in a 2 x 2 factorial experiment (n = 8 to 12 per group). Hearts were subjected to normal perfusion or to
solution supplemented with
adenosine 50 mumol/L for 10 minutes followed by
adenosine-free perfusion for 10 minutes. Hearts then were stored for 8 hours at 0 degrees C in either University of Wisconsin
solution (
adenosine 5 mmol/L) or St. Thomas' Hospital II
solution (
adenosine free).
Adenosine pretreatment increased tissue levels of
adenosine triphosphate before storage (p = 0.04). Nonfunction was less common after storage (1/19 versus 6/20 hearts, p < 0.05), and diastolic function was better preserved in the
adenosine groups in the reperfusion phase (p = 0.01). The beneficial effects of
adenosine pretreatment were independent of which storage
solution was used. Developed pressure was increased (p < 0.05) and release of
creatine kinase and
lactate dehydrogenase was reduced (p < 0.0001) in hearts treated with University of Wisconsin
solution compared with those treated with St. Thomas' Hospital
solution. These studies suggest that
adenosine pretreatment improves recovery after prolonged hypothermic storage and that the presence of
adenosine in the preservation
solution does not alter the results. The experiments provide further evidence that extended myocardial protection is better enhanced with University of Wisconsin
solution than with St. Thomas' Hospital II
solution.