Acute oxygen-ozone administration to rats protects the heart from ischemia reperfusion infarct.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE AND DESIGN: We tested here the effects of acute administration of an oxygen/ozone (O3) mixture on the myocardial tissue damage following an ischemic event. MATERIAL OR SUBJECTS: The study was done in Sprague-Dawley rats subjected to acute myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (I/R). TREATMENT 100; 150; and 300 microg/kg oxygen/O3 mixture were insufflated intraperitoneally 1 h prior to I/R. METHODS: Myocardial infarct size measurement and immunhistochemistry or ELISA for nitrotyrosine, CD68, CD8,CD4 and caspase-3 were done. RESULTS: I/R produced a marked damage in the rat left ventricle with an infarct size as percentage of the area at risk (IS/ AR) of approximately 45 +/- 4% . Rats insufflated with a oxygen/O3 mixture showed a significant 2-h cardio-protection (e. g. infarct size over area at risk for the dose of 300 microg/kg was approximately 30 +/- 3%,) as compared with control rats (P <0.01). This effect was paralleled by a decrease in tissue levels of immunostaining for biomarkers of nitrosative stress (nitrotyrosine), inflammation (CD68) and immunity response (CD8 and CD4) between heart tissues from infarcted rats and infarcted O3 treated rats. CONCLUSIONS: These data indicate that the tissue and biochemical damages associated with myocardial ischemia/reperfusion can be counteracted by an acute O3 pretreatment.