[Production of oxygen free radicals by cardiac mitochondria: effect of hypoxia-reoxygenation].

The effect of the duration of hypoxia on superoxide radical production in isolated rat heart mitochondria was studied by the spin trapping technique. 4,5-Dioxybenzene was used as a spin trap. Samples were placed into the cavity of an EPR spectrometer in thin-wall gas-permeable capillary tubes, which allowed keeping the suspension of mitochondria in aerobic or hypoxic conditions. Previously we have demonstrated that the rate of superoxide generation by mitochondria isolated from postischemic hearts depends radically on the duration of myocardial ischemia. By contrast, in mitochondria isolated from intact hearts, the effect did not depend on the duration of hypoxia. The rate of superoxide production by isolated mitochondria in the presence of antimycin A (a complex III Q-cycle inhibitor) and complex I or complex II substrates was 0.9 +/- 0.1 nmole O2*- /min/mg protein at 25 degrees C. Under reoxygenation conditions, after 10 min of hypoxia, the rate of superoxide production was considerably higher than before hypoxia. At the same time, after prolonged hypoxia, its value was practically the same as after 10-min hypoxia. The results enable the conclusion that isolated mitochondria are less sensitive to hypoxic conditions than mitochondria in ischemic heart.