Regional hypothermia protects against ischemia-reperfusion injury in isolated canine gracilis muscle.

Regional hypothermia is known to protect many tissues from ischemic injury. We investigated the relationship between regional hypothermia and skeletal muscle ischemia-reperfusion injury in a bilateral in vivo isolated canine gracilis muscle model. In five anesthetized dogs, one gracilis muscle was subjected to 6 hours of ischemia followed by 1 hour of reperfusion while the contralateral muscle served as a nonischemic control. Localization and quantitation of skeletal muscle injury was determined by histochemical staining with triphenyl tetrazolium chloride (TTC) followed by computerized planimetry of the infarct size. Muscle pH and temperature were monitored continuously in the proximal, middle, and distal segments by using pH electrodes and needle thermistors. Muscle pH was calculated by use of the Nernst equation with temperature correction, and hydrogen ion washout rates (H+) were derived from the observed change in muscle pH during reperfusion. A significant (p less than 0.05) regional hypothermia was observed in the distal third of the muscle. The preischemic temperature in the distal muscle was 27 +/- 2 degrees (SEM) C, compared to 34 +/- 1 degree and 32 +/- 2 degrees C in the proximal and middle segments of muscle, respectively. This temperature gradient was sustained throughout the experiment. The distal third of the ischemic muscle demonstrated significantly less (p less than 0.05) injury than the proximal and middle thirds as measured by TTC infarct size (31 +/- 10%, compared to 71 +/- 3% and 78 +/- 6%, respectively).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)