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1Division of Cardiology, 2Department of Internal Medicine; 3Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas
Submitted 20 November 2006 ; accepted in final form 1 February 2007
| ABSTRACT |
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acetylsalicylic acid; cyclooxygenase-2
Shinmura et al. (30) have shown that oral ASA at 25 mg/kg, but not at 5 or 10 mg/kg, abrogated the protective effect of the late phase of ischemic preconditioning in the rabbit. Moreover, Gross et al. (14) have found that when given intravenously, much lower doses of ASA (1 and 3 mg/kg) administered before reperfusion abolished the infarct size (IS)-limiting effect of morphine in the rat. There is growing evidence that interventions during reperfusion determine final IS by affecting "reperfusion injury" (10).
The use of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase inhibitors (statins) for primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease has increased over the last few years (13a). There are data supporting beneficial effects of statins in the early stages of acute myocardial infarction in humans (8, 28, 32). Recently, we have shown that 3-day pretreatment with atorvastatin (ATV) (10 mg·kg1·day1) limit IS in the rat (3, 4, 7, 36). The IS-limiting effect of ATV was abrogated when specific COX2 inhibitors were co-administered with atorvastatin for 3 days (7) or when given intravenously just before coronary artery occlusion (3), suggesting that the protective effect of ATV is mediated via COX2. Thus it might be that chewable or intravenous ASA could abrogate the direct myocardial protective effect of statins. This potential adverse effect may offset the favorable anti-platelet effects of ASA. Therefore, we have investigated whether intravenous ASA affects the IS-limiting effect of ATV pretreatment.
| METHODS |
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Male Sprague-Dawley rats received humane care in compliance with The Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals published by the National Institutes of Health (NIH Publication No. 85-23, Revised 1996). The protocol was approved by University of Texas Medical Branch IACUC.
Materials
ASA was purchased from Sigma (St. Louis, MO), and ATV was from Pfizer Pharmaceuticals (New York, NY). ELISA kits for 6-keto-PGF1
and COX activity, and arachidonic acid, SC-58125, and SC-560 were from Cayman Chemicals (Ann Arbor, MI).
Treatment
Rats received 3-day pretreatment with ATV (10 mg·kg1·day1) suspended in water or water alone, administered by oral gavage once daily. On the fourth day all rats underwent coronary artery ligation for 30 min.
Protocol 1. At 27 min of coronary artery occlusion, rats received intravenous ASA (5, 10, or 20 mg/kg), dissolved in saline or equal volume of saline alone over 2 min (Fig. 1). Rats were euthanized after 4 h of reperfusion (IS protocol) or after 10 min of reperfusion (for enzyme expression and activity assays).
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Infarct Size Surgical Protocol
The rat model of myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury has been described in detail (3, 4, 7, 36). On the fourth day, rats were anesthetized with intraperitoneal injection of ketamine (60 mg/kg) and xylazine (6 mg/kg), intubated, and ventilated (FIO2 = 30%). The rectal temperature was monitored, and body temperature was maintained between 36.7°C and 37.3°C throughout the experiment. The left carotid artery was cannulated. The chest was opened, and the left coronary artery was encircled with a suture and ligated for 30 min. Isofluorane (12.5% titrated to effect) was added after the beginning of ischemia to maintain anesthesia. At 30 min of ischemia, after administration of aspirin or saline, the snare was released and myocardial reperfusion was verified by change in the color of the myocardium. In the IS protocol, subcutaneous 0.1 mg/kg buprenorphine was administered, the chest was closed, and the rats recovered from anesthesia. Four hours (protocol 1) or 24 h (protocol 2) after reperfusion the rats were reanesthetized, the coronary artery was reoccluded, 1.5 ml of Evan's blue dye 3% were injected into the right ventricle, and the rats were euthanized while under deep anesthesia. Heart rate and mean blood pressure were noted at baseline (10 min after completion of surgery), immediately before coronary artery occlusion, at 25 min of ischemia, and at 20 min of reperfusion.
The prespecified exclusion criteria were lack of signs of ischemia during coronary artery ligation, lack of signs of reperfusion after release of the snare, prolonged ventricular arrhythmia with hypotension, and area at risk (AR)
10% of the left ventricular weight.
Myocardial Levels of 6-Keto-PGF1
and COX Activity Protocol
Ten minutes after reperfusion, the coronary artery was reoccluded, 1.5 ml of Evan's blue dye 3% were injected into the right ventricle, and the rats were euthanized while under deep anesthesia. The ischemic myocardial zone (not colored by the blue dye) was rapidly dissected and stored at 80° until analysis.
Determination of Area At Risk and Infarct Size
Hearts were excised, and the left ventricle was sliced transversely into six sections. Slices were incubated for 10 min at 37°C in 1% buffered (pH = 7.4) 2,3,5-triphenyl-tetrazolium-chloride (TTC), fixed in a 10% formaldehyde, and photographed to identify the AR (uncolored by the blue dye), the IS (unstained by TTC), and the nonischemic zones (colored by blue dye). The AR and IS in each slice were determined by planimetry, converted into percentages of the whole for each slice, and multiplied by the weight of the slice, and the results were summed to obtain the weight of the myocardial AR and IS (3, 4, 7, 36).
6-Keto-PGF1
and Total COX, COX1, and COX2 Activity
Myocardial samples were sectioned into four segments (20 mg each), homogenized in cold phosphate-buffered saline (pH 7.4), and then centrifuged. The supernatants of each sample were collected and divided into four test vials containing 500 µl Hanks HEPES solution. The first vial was used for assessing 6-keto-PGF1
levels. The second vial was used for assessing total COX + PGI2 synthase integrated activity [50 µM arachidonic acid (AA) were added to bypass a possible limiting effect of cPLA2]. The third vial contained 50 µM AA and 200 µM of SC-58125 (a specific COX2 inhibitor) and was used for assessing 6-keto-PGF1
generated by COX1. The fourth vial contained 50 µM AA and 100 µM SC-560 (a specific COX1 inhibitor) and was used for assessing 6-keto-PGF1
generated by COX2 (3, 7). After 15-min incubation at room temperature, the supernatant in each vial was aspirated and stored at 70°C. The samples (25 µl each) were analyzed for 6-keto-PGF1
by using immunoassay assay kits (Cayman Chemicals). We also assessed the peroxidase activity of COX1 in the control and ATV group by using an assay kit (Cayman Chemical), as previously described (36).
Statistical Analysis
Data are presented as means ± SE. The significance level
is 0.05. Body weight, left ventricular weight, the size of the AR and IS, 6-keto-PGF1
levels, and COX activity were compared using analysis of variance with Sidak correction for multiple comparisons (SPSS version 14.0). The differences in heart rate and mean blood pressure were compared using two-way repeated measures ANOVA with Holm-Sidak multiple comparison procedures. Values of P < 0.05 were considered statistically significant.
| RESULTS |
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Infarct size. A total of 49 rats were included in the IS protocol (78 in each group). Three rats died during reperfusion: one in the ASA group, one in the ATV + 5 mg ASA, and one in the ATV + 10 mg ASA. There were no other exclusions. Body weight and the size of the AR were comparable among groups (Table 1). IS was significantly smaller in the ATV group than in the control group. ASA alone had no significant effect on IS; however, ASA in a dose-dependent way blunted the protective effect of ATV (Table 1, Fig. 2). IS in the ATV + 10 mg ASA and ATV + 20 mg ASA was not significantly different from that of the controls or ASA alone group; however, it was significantly larger than in the ATV alone group.
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Myocardial 6-keto-PGF1
and COX activity.
Overall, there were significant differences in myocardial 6-keto-PGF1
levels among the groups (P < 0.001 for the differences among groups) (Fig. 3A). ATV significantly increased myocardial 6-keto-PGF1
levels, whereas ASA decreased its levels compared with the control group. ASA in a dose-dependent fashion blunted the ATV induction of 6-keto-PGF1
levels. Blood levels of 6-keto-PGF1
were significantly lower in the ATV + 5 mg ASA, ATV + 10 mg ASA, and ATV + 20 mg ASA groups than in the ATV alone group.
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There were significant differences in 6-keto-PGF1
production via COX1 among the groups (P < 0.001 for the differences among groups) (Fig. 3C). Most of the 6-keto-PGF1
production in the control group is via COX1 (Fig. 3). Again, ATV caused a small, but statistically significant, increase in myocardial 6-keto-PGF1
production through COX1, although when we used the peroxidase activity assay (Fig. 4), there was no significant difference in COX1 activity between the control and ATV group. ASA alone partially inhibited COX1 activity compared with the control group. ASA partially inhibited the ATV-induced increase in myocardial 6-keto-PGF1
production by COX1. The differences in COX1 activity between the ATV + 5 mg ASA, ATV + 10 mg ASA, and ATV + 20 mg ASA to that of the ATV alone group were statistically significant.
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production that can be attributed to COX2. ATV significantly augmented COX2 activity (Fig. 3D). ASA alone had no effect on COX2 activity when compared with the control group; however, ASA in a dose-dependent manner blocked the induction of COX2 by ATV. At 20 mg/kg, ASA completely blocked the effect of ATV. Figure 5 shows an inverse correlation between infarct size and COX2 activity.
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A total of 27 rats were included. None of the rats died or were excluded. Body weight and the size of the AR were comparable among groups (Table 2). ASA, given just after coronary artery occlusion, completely blocked the protective effect of ATV (Fig. 6). In contrast, when given 15 min after reperfusion, ASA only partially blocked the protective effect of ATV (IS, 21.0 ± 3.3% vs. 12.6 ± 1.9%; P = 0.03) (Fig. 6). Nevertheless, IS was significantly smaller in the ATV + ASA at 15 min of reperfusion than in the ASA at reperfusion-alone group (37.6 ± 1.0%; P < 0.001).
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| DISCUSSION |
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Previously, we have shown that ATV (10 mg·kg1·day1 for 3 days) augmented the production of 6-keto-PGF1
via COX1 and COX2 (7). COX1 is a constitutive enzyme, and its expression and activity are not inducible. In the present study we checked the production of 6-keto-PGF1
, a product of both COX1 and PGI2 synthase, and the peroxidase activity of COX1 using two separate assays. We have previously shown that ATV augments the expression and activity of PGI2 synthase (3, 7). When measured by an ELISA kit that assesses the peroxidase activity of COX, we found that ATV (10 mg·kg1·day1 for 3 days) does not affect COX1 activity (36). Our current findings are in agreement with the previous studies. We have chosen the current method to study the effects of ASA because ASA is known to acetylate the cyclooxygenase site of COX without a known effect on the peroxidase site (23, 27, 29). Thus the increased production of 6-keto-PGF1
via COX1 is due to upregulation of PGI2 synthase and not COX1.
We have shown previously that the same regimen of ATV augments myocardial expression and activity of COX2 in rats not subjected to ischemia (3, 7, 36). ATV augments myocardial production of 6-keto-PGF1
in rat hearts subjected to 15 min of ischemia (7). ATV activates COX2 by induction of inducible nitric oxide synthase that nitrosylates COX2 (3). Inhibition of COX2 by either valdecoxib (administered orally for 3 days together with ATV) (7) or SC-58125 (administered intravenously just before coronary artery occlusion) (3) abrogates the IS-limiting effect of ATV. In the present study, COX2 activity in the hearts of the control rats subjected to 30 min of coronary artery occlusion and 10 min of reperfusion was mildly elevated compared with the values obtained in nonischemic myocardium in the previous studies (3, 7). ATV caused marked elevation in COX2 activity 10 min after reperfusion. This effect was dose dependently attenuated by ASA. There was a negative correlation between COX2 activity and IS (Fig. 5). This suggests that ASA in a dose-dependent manner blunts the protective effect of ATV by inhibiting COX2.
In our model, myocardial ischemia is induced by mechanical compression of the artery and not by an occlusive thrombus overlying a ruptured intracoronary plaque. Therefore, the potential beneficial effect of ASA on platelet function could not have a significant effect as seen in the clinical setting. ASA alone had no effect on IS. Similar results were reported by Libersan et al. (22) in a dog model with a residual critical coronary stenosis after reperfusion. However, we are showing that in doses comparable to those used in the clinical setting of acute myocardial infarction, ASA attenuated the protective effect of ATV by inhibiting COX2. Shimnura et al. (30) reported that oral ASA at 25 mg/kg, but not 5 or 10 mg/kg, attenuates the protective effect of late ischemic preconditioning against myocardial stunning in the rabbit. Intravenous infusion of ASA at 5 and 25 mg/kg does not negate the effect of late ischemic preconditioning on nuclear factor-
B activation and IS limitation in rabbits (17). In contrast, at 130 mg/kg ASA blocks the protective effect of late preconditioning (17). In a conscious sheep model, intravenous ASA at 20 mg/kg, but not at 1.5 mg/kg or 8 mg/kg, blunts the effect of ischemic preconditioning on myocardial stunning (21). On the other hand, when given intravenously to rats, low doses of ASA (1 and 3 mg/kg), administered 5 min before reperfusion, abolishes morphine-induced IS reduction (14). ASA (50 µg/ml) blunts the antiarrhythmic effect of ischemic preconditioning against reperfusion tachyarrhythmias in the isolated rat heart Langendorff model (2).
One may argue that in the clinical setting of ST elevation myocardial infarction, ASA is usually given during ischemia (i.e., on rout to the hospital by the emergency medical services) and not just before reperfusion. In such a case, ASA may acetylate COX1 and COX2 in all perfused tissues, except the ischemic myocardial zone. Therefore, by the time of reperfusion, levels of aspirin in the blood are low and the inhibition of COX2 in the reperfused zone will be low. To answer this question, we added protocol 2a (Fig. 6). We are showing that ASA, administered 30 min before reperfusion, completely blocked the protective effect of ATV, refuting the abovementioned hypothesis.
Most of the "reperfusion injury" occurs within minutes of reperfusion (37). "Postconditioning" reduces IS only when applied within the first few minutes of reperfusion (20, 35). Similarly, the IS-limiting effect of insulin infusion is present when given within the first 15 min of reperfusion (18). Insulin infusion after 15 min of reperfusion does not affect IS (18). Therefore, it is not surprising that ASA given at 15 min of reperfusion only partially blocked the protective effect of ATV (Fig. 6).
Currently, chewable ASA at a dose of 160325 mg is recommended for all patients with acute myocardial infarction (1, 33). For a patient with body weight of 80 kg this translates to 24 mg/kg. However, higher doses of up to 500 mg (67 mg/kg) are commonly used outside the United States (12). These doses are comparable to those used in our present study.
The important role of ASA in patients with ST elevation myocardial infarction has been established by the ISIS-2 trial (28a); however, at the time when the study was conducted few patients received statin therapy. Currently, many patients are receiving high doses of statins for primary or secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease. It is plausible that in these patients, the beneficial effects of ASA on platelet aggregation may be offset by blunting of the protective effects of statins. It is also plausible that other anti-platelet inhibitors not affecting the COX2 pathway such as clopidogrel (25) or thromboxane A2 receptor inhibitors (16) may be more beneficial especially in patients receiving statins. Similar adverse interaction may also occur in stable ischemic heart disease patients with prolonged use of ASA and statin combination, as some of the pleiotropic effects of statins may be mediated via COX2 products. For example, statins augment development of collaterals (13, 26). In contrast, some have suggested that ASA may reduce the recruitment of collaterals (15, 31). Future clinical studies are needed to assess this potential important adverse interaction between ASA and statins.
| FOOTNOTES |
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The costs of publication of this article were defrayed in part by the payment of page charges. The article must therefore be hereby marked "advertisement" in accordance with 18 U.S.C. Section 1734 solely to indicate this fact.
| REFERENCES |
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