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The purpose of this study was to determine the roles of cytosolic and ecto 5'-nucleotidase in myocardial ischemia-induced increases in interstitial fluid (ISF) adenosine. Pentobarbital anesthetized, open chest pigs were instrumented with two microdialysis fibers in the distally perfused bed of the left anterior descending (LAD) coronary artery to estimate ISF metabolites. Fibers in control hearts were perfused with standard Krebs buffer. In two additional groups, after collecting one dialysate sample with normal Krebs, fibers were perfused with buffer supplemented with either L-homocysteine thiolactone (5 mM) or the ecto 5'-nucleotidase inhibitor alpha, beta-methylene adenosine 5'-diphosphate (AOPCP, 5 mM). Hearts were then submitted to 60 minutes LAD occlusion and two hours reperfusion. Dialysate nucleosides and AMP were measured by high performance liquid chromatography. The local delivery of homocysteine did not alter preischemic dialysate adenosine concentration (0.30 +/- 0.04 microM) compared to pre-homocysteine infusion (0.39 +/- 0.04 microM) or control hearts (0.36 +/- 0.04 microM), but AOPCP significantly decreased preischemic dialysate adenosine levels (from 0.36 +/- 0.02 to 0.14 +/- 0.03 microM). During LAD occlusion both homocysteine and AOPCP reduced dialysate levels by approximately 50%. At 30 minutes ischemia dialysate adenosine concentrations were 19.47 +/- 2.72, 11.41 +/- 2.44, and 7.93 +/- 1.01 microM in control, homocysteine, and AOPCP hearts, respectively. AOPCP significantly increased dialysate AMP levels; at 60 minutes ischemia AMP levels were 6.22 +/- 2.97 microM in control hearts and 38.60 +/- 5.69 microM in AOPCP treated hearts. These results suggest that both cytosolic and ecto 5'-nucleotidase contribute to ischemia-induced increases in ISF adenosine in porcine myocardium.

There are numerous reports of interstitial fluid (ISF) and coronary venous adenosine measurements in isolated perfused hearts. This study was designed to simultaneously compare ISF and coronary venous adenosine concentrations during various interventions in in vivo porcine myocardium. In anesthetized, open-chest pigs, ISF adenosine, inosine, and hypoxanthine were sampled with cardiac microdialysis. Coronary sinus or venous purines were sampled with a metabolism-stop solution. During basal conditions, ISF adenosine was greater than coronary venous adenosine, but vascular inosine and hypoxanthine were greater than corresponding ISF levels. Dobutamine (20 micrograms/kg/min, i.v.) and systemic hypoxia produced three- and two-fold increases in ISF adenosine, but had no significant effect on coronary sinus adenosine concentration. Hypoxia, but not dobutamine, increased coronary sinus total purines 50%. In contrast to these interventions, intracoronary adenosine infusion (0.5-50 micrograms/kg/min) was associated with significantly greater coronary venous adenosine concentrations than ISF levels. Only during a coronary artery occlusion/reperfusion protocol were ISF and coronary venous adenosine concentrations comparable. The results of this study thus provide in vivo evidence of the powerful endothelial and red blood cell metabolic barriers to both exogenous and endogenous adenosine. These results also illustrate the differences in adenosine concentrations in the ISF and vascular spaces.

Phorbol esters reduce cardiac contractility and produce coronary vasoconstriction presumably by stimulating protein kinase C (PKC). We tested whether adenosine altered the response to phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) in isolated rat hearts. Hearts, perfused at constant flow and constant heart rate, were exposed to PMA (10 nM) for 30 min and then allowed 30 min of recovery. PMA reduced left ventricular developed pressure (LVDP) from 81 +/- 2 to 49 +/- 3 and 40 +/- 2 mmHg (51 +/- 3% of baseline LVDP) after 30 min infusion and 30 min recovery, respectively. PMA also increased coronary perfusion pressure to 224 +/- 13% of baseline after 60 min. The PKC inhibitor bisindolylmaleimide (0.5 microM) blocked the PMA-induced negative inotropy and vasoconstriction. Adenosine (100 microM) and the A1-agonist 2-chloro-N6-cyclopentyladenosine (CCPA, 0.1 microM) significantly attenuated the negative inotropic effect of PMA as LVDP was maintained at 81 +/- 4% and 99 +/- 7% of baseline, whereas CGS-21680, an A2-agonist, had no beneficial effect on function (54 +/- 4% of baseline). Adenosine and CGS-21680 (0.1 microM), but not CCPA, significantly attenuated PMA-induced coronary vasoconstriction. These results suggest that adenosine receptor activation may modulate myocardial PKC activity or attenuate the effects of increased PKC activity.