Inhibition by thiamine tetrahydrofurfuryl disulfide (TTFD) of the arachidonic acid cascade-line activation as evidenced in the heart-lung preparation of the dog.

The effects of thiamine tetrahydrofurfuryl disulfide (TTFD) on the gradual increase in the coronary blood flow (CBF) inherent in the canine heart-lung preparation were studied. TTFD is a disulfide-type derivative of thiamine reported to have an antiinflammatory effect in experimental animals. Since it was found that the substance could reverse the gradual increase in CBF, the possibility that the reversal was brought about through an inhibition of activation of the arachidonic acid cascade-line was tested, examining the effects of this substance on the CBF increase produced by arachidonic acid (AA) and prostacyclin (PGI2). The vasodilator response to AA, which was barely detectable at the start of the experiment at which CBF was at a physiological low level, became potentiated as the gradual increase in CBF occurred, returning to the initial magnitude after TTFD, while the vasodilator response to PGI2 remained essentially unchanged during the entire course of the experiment. It was concluded that TTFD reversed the gradual increase in CBF in the HLP through the inhibition of the arachidonic acid cascade-line activation.