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 μg/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 ~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 μg/kg was ~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.