Effects of Postconditioning, Preconditioning and Perfusion of L-carnitine During Whole Period of Ischemia/ Reperfusion on Cardiac Hemodynamic Functions and Myocardial Infarction Size in Isolated Rat Heart

Objective(s): In the present work, the effects of L-carnitine (LC) on postischemic cardiac hemodynamic functions and infarction size were studied in isolated rat heart. Materials and Methods: The hearts were subjected to 30 min regional ischemia followed by 120 min reperfusion. Then they were perfused by a drug-free or LC-enriched Krebs–Henseleit (K/H) solution during ischemia/ reperfusion (I/R) (Protocol 1), 10 min before ischemia induction (Protocol 2; preconditioning group) or the first 10 min of reperfusion (Protocol 3; postconditioning group). Results: The perfusion of LC in protocol 1 significantly reduced left ventricular end diastolic pressure (LVEDP) (P<0.05), and increased left ventricular developed pressure (LVDP) (P<0.05), rate pressure product (RPP) (P<0.01) and coronary flow rate (CFR) (P<0.05). The short-term preischemic administration of LC in protocol 2 improved RPP, CFR and decreased the extent of LVEDP elevation. However, protective effects of LC in this protocol were low compared to the whole period perfusion. In protocol 3, LC preserved postischemic cardiac functions not as much as the other protocols. In addition, infarct size significantly decreased by LC in all protocols as opposed to the control group (P<0.001). Conclusion: The results of the present work showed that LC produced protective effects against I/R injury. These protective actions were reversed by concomitant use of etomoxir (a CPT-I inhibitor), suggesting that the efficacy of LC could be due to its mitochondrial action, probably related to the raise in glucose oxidation of the reperfused hearts.