Comparison of two experimental models for assessment of cardiac preservation

• Published in: The Annals of thoracic surgery Vol. 55; no. 1; pp. 144 - 150
• Main Authors: Fremes, Stephen E., Furukawa, Robert D., Li, Ren-Ke, Weisel, Richard D., Mickle, Donald A.G., Tumiati, Laura C.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York, NY Elsevier Inc 1993; Elsevier Science
• Subjects: Adenosine; Adenosine Diphosphate - metabolism; Adenosine Monophosphate - metabolism; Adenosine Triphosphate - metabolism; Allopurinol; Anesthesia. Intensive care medicine. Transfusions. Cell therapy and gene therapy; Animals; Biological and medical sciences; Cardioplegic Solutions - pharmacology; Cell Survival - physiology; Clinical death. Palliative care. Organ gift and preservation; Cryopreservation - methods; Energy Metabolism - physiology; Glutathione; Graft Survival - physiology; Heart Transplantation - pathology; Humans; Insulin; Medical sciences; Myocardium - pathology; Organ Preservation - methods; Organ Preservation Solutions; Raffinose; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Solutions - pharmacology; Tetralogy of Fallot - pathology; Tetralogy of Fallot - surgery; Heart; Human; Cell culture; Rat; Rodentia; Cardiovascular disease; Transplantation; Homotransplantation; Myocyte; Isolated organ; Vertebrata; Mammalia; Treatment; Organ preservation; Animal; Surgery; Comparative study; Solution
• ISSN: 0003-4975; 1552-6259
• DOI: 10.1016/0003-4975(93)90492-Z

Previous studies from this institution using human cell cultures have suggested that University of Wisconsin solution is preferred for prolonged hypothermic storage for cardiac transplantation. The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of extended cardiac preservation with University of Wisconsin solution by assessing the time-related changes of purine metabolites using two different models of cold storage. Isolated rat hearts (n = 6/group) or human ventricular myocyte cultures (n = 7 dishes/group) were assessed after 0, 6, 12, and 24 hours in University of Wisconsin solution at 0 °C using high-performance liquid chromatography. Adenosine triphosphate content decreased from 18.1 ± 5.4 to 9.6 ± 2.7 μmol/g dried weight by 12 hours and to 1.0 ± 0.6 μmol/g by 24 hours (
p < 0.0001 by analysis of variance) in the rat model. Adenosine triphosphate content decreased from 0.64 ± 0.42 to 0.14 ± 0.11 nmol/μg DNA at 6 hours and to 0.04 ± 0.03 nmol/μg DNA by 24 hours (
p < 0.00001) in the cardiomyocytes. Inosine monophosphate content increased from 0.1 ± 0.2 to 10.8 ± 1.0 by 24 hours (
p < 0.0001) in the rat studies. Inosine monophosphate values tended to increase up to 12 hours (
p = 0.06) in the cell cultures and then declined. Adenosine concentration increased from 0.3 ± 0.3 to 2.3 ± 0.9 μmol/g at 6 hours and declined thereafter (
p < 0.0005) in the rodent hearts. Adenosine concentration increased from 0.03 ± 0.02 to 1.53 ± 0.72 nmol/μg DNA at 6 hours (
p < 0.0001) in the cardiomyocytes. Human cell cultures may represent a more sensitive model to evaluate adenine nucleotides after cardiac storage conditions and avoid species-specific changes in purine degradation. Nucleoside contents are likely increased unphysiologically with this experimental technique.