Formation and release of nucleosides in the ischemic myocardium. Is the guinea-pig the exception?

In this study evidence is provided to suggest that nucleoside formation with hypoxia in myocardial tissue from the guinea-pig follows a different course from that in the rat, rabbit or dog. 1) After ischemia, tissue levels of adenosine remain barely detectable in the guinea-pig but rise considerably in the rat and the dog. 2) IMP, remaining almost absent in the dog, does not change in the rat but strongly increases (X 6) in the guinea-pig heart with ischemia. 3) Mioflazine, a nucleoside transport inhibitor, completely reverses the ratio adenosine/inosine in dog myocardium after 8 min of ischemia, making adenosine by far the major nucleoside. No effect could be detected in the guinea-pig. 4) In contrast with the rat and rabbit, ischemia in the guinea-pig does not lead to any considerable release of adenosine upon reperfusion. 5) In the rabbit, the presence of a nucleoside transport inhibitor completely reverses the adenosine/inosine ratio in reperfusates after ischemia. Although the release is strongly inhibited under these conditions in the guinea-pig, adenosine release remains negligible when compared with inosine. 6) Even in the presence of high concentrations of an adenosine deaminase inhibitor, inosine remains the major metabolite released upon reperfusion after ischemia, in the guinea-pig heart.