Reduced glutathione modulates the arachidonic acid induced coronary reactions.

Coronary flow was recorded from spontaneously beating isolated perfused hearts of rats and guinea pigs. Arachidonic acid (AA), in single bolus doses, produced a fast short lasting coronary constriction followed by a slow developing but persisting vasodilation. These reactions (biphasic type) were characteristic of the guinea pig heart. In about 50% of the rat hearts the vasoconstrictor action predominated while the biphasic response was obtained in the rest of the experiments. Pretreatment of rats with aspirin prevented the responses to AA in the isolated heart. The administration of reduced glutathione (GSH) (about 1 mM to the rat or 0.5-0.75 mM to the guinea pig hearts) produced a marked development and (or) enhancement of the vasodilator action of AA. Repeated or single large doses of AA produced a change of pattern of responses from biphasic to constrictor type; the addition of GSH restored the vasodilator phase. Since GSH directs the endoperoxide metabolism towards the synthesis of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), we postulate that the coronary dilatation of resistance vessels produced by AA would be due to a great extent to PGE2.