Magnesium orotate elicits acute cardioprotection at reperfusion in isolated and in vivo rat hearts.

Orotic acid and its salts chronically administered have been shown to significantly improve cardiac function in pathological settings associated with ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury. The aim of our study was to investigate the effect of magnesium orotate (Mg-Or) administration at the onset of post-ischemic reperfusion on myocardial function and infarct size (IS). Ex-vivo experiments performed on isolated perfused rat hearts were used to compare Mg-Or administration with a control group (buffer treated), ischemic post-conditioning, orotic acid treatment, and MgCl2 treatment. Mg-Or administration was also investigated in an in-vivo model of regional I/R performed in rats undergoing reversible coronary ligation. The effect of Mg-Or on mitochondrial permeability transition pore (mPTP) opening after I/R was investigated in vitro to gain mechanistic insights. Both ex-vivo and in-vivo experiments showed a beneficial effect from Mg-Or administration at the onset of reperfusion on myocardial function and IS. In-vitro assays showed that Mg-Or significantly delayed mPTP opening after I/R. Our data suggest that Mg-Or administered at the very onset of reperfusion may preserve myocardial function and reduce IS. This beneficial effect may be related to a significant reduction of mPTP opening, a usual trigger of cardiac cell death following I/R.

High-resolution respirometry with multiple substrates titration in permeabilized myocardial fibers.

The present study was purported to standardize the high-resolution respirometry technique for the analysis of oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) in saponin-skinned cardiac fibers. Preparation of permeabilized myocardial fibers allows the assessment of respiratory function of the entire population of mitochondria in their normal intracellular position. Adult male rat ventricular bundles were permeabilized with saponin (50 microg/ml) and samples (1-3 mg wet weight) were transferred into the Oxygraph-2k (OROBOROS Instr., Austria) chambers containing air saturated incubation buffer in order to measure Complex I (CI) and II (CII) dependent respiration. The following values (expressed in pmol O2 x s(-1) x mg(-1)) were obtained: CI_LEAK, 67.18 +/- 5.12 (CI dependent basal respiration, after glutamate and malate addition); CI_P, 247.37 +/- 49.90 (CI_OXPHOS state after ADP addition); CI_Pc, 252.036 +/- 53.13 (the intactness of the outer mitochondrial membrane assessed after cytochrome c addition); CI+II_P, 342.90 +/- 62.48 (maximum OXPHOS state obtained after succinate addition by activating convergent electron flow from CI+II into the Q junction of the electron transport system (ETS); CII_P, 302.26 +/- 50.16 (CII dependent OXPHOS state obtained after the addition of a CI inhibitor rotenone, with the subsequent entry of electrons from CII only into the Q junction); ETS capacity, 331.11 +/- 62.39 (uncoupled respiration). The standardized technique will allow the systematic characterization of mitochondrial respiratory dysfunction associated with several cardiac pathologies in both animals and humans.