Postischemic cell death in reperfused porcine hearts is not attenuated by the spin trap agent PBN during early reperfusion.

Ischemic, reperfused porcine hearts were used to investigate whether the spin trap agent PBN (N-tert-butyl-alpha-phenylnitrone) attenuates postischemic cell death by scavenging of free radicals. The left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD) was ligated distally in 16 pigs for 45 min and then reperfused for 3 h. PBN (coronary concentration approximately 1 mM) was infused into the LAD of eight pigs during the first 45 min of reperfusion. Electron spin resonance spectroscopy (ESR) was performed to identify free radical adducts in the reperfused coronary venous blood. Regional systolic shortening (SS%) was determined by sonomicrometry. Infarct size was evaluated as the percentage of infarcted (tetrazolium stain) to ischemic (dye technique) myocardium. The transmural ultrastructural degree of myocardial injury as well as myocardial ATP levels were assessed at the end of the experiment. Intracoronary treatment with PBN during early reperfusion did not attenuate myocardial damage. Infarct sizes (control group 59 +/- 19%, treated group 55 +/- 14%), transmural ultrastructural alterations, myocardial ATP concentrations (control group 1.8 +/- 0.3 mumol/mg frozen weight, treated group 1.7 +/- 0.4 mumol/mg) and regional systolic shortening at the end of the experiments (control group -1 +/- 5%, treated group -2 +/- 6% did not differ significantly. Furthermore, under various experimental conditions of spin trapping, free radical adducts could not be identified in coronary venous blood during early reperfusion. The results suggest that the spin trap agent PBN (1 mM) does not affect postischemic cell death in porcine hearts.