Sepsis protects the heart of alcoholic rats from ischemia-reperfusion injury.

We have previously shown that administration of Escherichia coli to a rat induces cardiac dysfunction, but also prevents the myocardium from being further damaged by total ischemia. We have also previously shown that induction of sepsis in a rat that has consumed alcohol as 36% of its caloric intake for 8-10 weeks, results in a potentiation of the cardiac depression resulting from sepsis. In this study, we determined if administration of Gram-negative bacteria to a chronically alcoholic rat would still protect the heart from ischemia-reperfusion injury. We tested the protective effect of sepsis using an in vitro, isovolumically contracting heart preparation. Global ischemia was maintained for 35 min, followed by 25-min reperfusion. In the present experiments, sepsis produced a 40% decrease in cardiac performance, but was also protective of hearts made ischemic the next day. Hearts from septic and alcoholic septic rats recovered 100% of preischemic ventricular function after 35-min ischemia, whereas hearts from the control and alcohol groups recovered only 80% of preischemic left ventricular performance. Whereas preischemic function was significantly decreased in the septic groups compared with the two nonseptic groups, postischemic function was no longer significantly different in the four groups. Thus, sepsis resulted in development of protection of the hearts from ischemia-reperfusion injury, even in hearts that were severely compromised by the combination of chronic alcoholism and Gram-negative sepsis.