Metabolic and functional effects of phosphoenolpyruvate and adenosine triphosphate on rat hearts subjected to global ischemia.

The effect of phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) administered during ischemia was investigated, using the paracorporeal rat heart model. During 15 min of global ischemia the hearts were perfused twice with PEP and ATP (supplemented) or with NaCl only (non-supplemented). In hearts that were freeze-clamped after the ischemic period (group A), the myocardial content of high-energy phosphates showed only minor differences between hearts with and without supplemention. In the supplemented hearts there was increased myocardial content of pyruvate and, to some extent, of lactate, indicating that PEP was metabolized to pyruvate and partly to lactate. In groups B and C the hearts were reperfused for 40 min before freeze-clamping. The non-supplemented hearts showed higher energy content and better left ventricular performance and, concomitantly, the creatine kinase isoenzyme MB (CK-MB) efflux was less than for the supplemented hearts. A clear inverse relationship between left ventricular performance and CK-MB efflux indicated that CK-MB served as a marker of cell integrity. These results contrasted with previus finding of an unequivocally positive effect from PEP and ATP administration. Possible explanations are discussed.