The effect of short-term myocardial ischemia on the expression of adhesion molecules and the oxidative burst of coronary sinus blood neutrophils.

We examined the influence of transient myocardial ischemia on the number and function of neutrophils in patients with effort angina (EA). We tested fluorometrically the expression of neutrophil membrane molecules (CD11b, CD11c, CD18) and neutrophil oxidative burst using a chemiluminescence (CL) generation system. The estimations were conducted before, 1 min after and 20 min after percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) in 15 patients qualified for the treatment because of single-vessel disease. Eight EA patients subjected to coronary arteriography (CA) comprised a control group. We did not observe any marked changes in leucocytosis or lymphocyte number in peripheral blood (PB) or in coronary sinus blood (CSB) after the procedure. The percentage of granulocytes in coronary blood decreased significantly 20 min after reperfusion. No significant changes in white blood cell count were noted in peripheral blood of PTCA patients or in control CA subjects. Oxidative burst of nonstimulated and fMLP, PMA and zymosan stimulated sinus blood neutrophils was significantly depressed 1 min after inflation, and enhanced 20 min after reperfusion. We found a significant increase in the percentage of the CD11c+ neutrophils from 56.7 +/- 7.4% to 64 +/- 6.5% 20 min after inflation and postischemic decrease in the CD11c molecule expression on CSB neutrophils. Significant positive linear correlation (Rval = 0.71) between inflation time and the CD11c molecule expression on CSB immediately after reperfusion was also noted. The results may reflect local activation of neutrophils in ischemic myocardium as a response to ischemia induced increase of activating stimuli.