OBJECTIVE We studied the effect of the angiotensin II type 1 (AT1)-receptor antagonist candesartan on infarct size resulting from regional myocardial ischemia in pigs. BACKGROUND The effects of AT1-receptor blockade on infarct size in different species remain controversial and its potential cardioprotective mechanisms are still unclear. In pigs, infarct development closely resembles that obse...

Very early reperfusion after coronary occlusion can reduce infarct size and preserve left ventricular function. Whether later reperfusion is of benefit is unclear. We studied the effect of very early reperfusion with myocardial salvage and "late" reperfusion without myocardial salvage on infarct expansion and aneurysm formation. Sixty-eight rats underwent left coronary artery ligation and were ...

BACKGROUND Infarct heterogeneity, as assessed by determination of the peri-infarct zone (PIZ) by cardiac magnetic resonance imaging, has been shown to be an independent predictor for the development of cardiac arrhythmias and mortality post myocardial infarction (MI). The temporal evolution of the PIZ post MI is currently unknown. Thus, the main objective of our study was to describe the tempor...

We have reported that ischemic preconditioning may limit infarct size by increasing 5'-nucleotidase activity. The present study tested whether alpha 1-adrenoceptor stimulation in ischemic preconditioning mediates the infarct size-limiting effect through augmentation of 5'-nucleotidase activity. The coronary artery was occluded four times for 5 min separated by 5 min of reperfusion (ischemic pre...

PURPOSE To evaluate the time course of delayed gadolinium enhancement of infarcted myocardium by using serial contrast agent-enhanced (CE) cardiac magnetic resonance (MR) images obtained during the acute, subacute, and chronic stages of infarction. MATERIALS AND METHODS The study protocol was reviewed and approved by the local ethics committee, and written informed consent was obtained. Seven...

BACKGROUND We previously used adenosine A2A receptor (A2AR) knockout (KO) mice and bone marrow transplantation to show that the infarct-sparing effect of A2AR activation at reperfusion is primarily due to effects on bone marrow-derived cells. In this study we show that CD4+ but not CD8+ T lymphocytes contribute to myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury. METHOD AND RESULTS After a 45-minute oc...