Regional cardiac prostaglandin release during myocardial ischemia in anesthetized dogs

Cardiac prostaglandin release was studied in closed-chest dogs during acute coronary occlusion. Aortic and coronary sinus blood was obtained before, and at intervals after, balloon occlusion of the left anterior descending artery in seven dogs. Samples were assayed for prostaglandins F, E, and A by randioimmunoassay. All dogs demonstrated prostaglandin F release, Mean +/- SE postocclusion aortic levels were 0.26 +/- 0.01 ng/ml; coronary sinus levels were 0.67 +/- 0.01 ng/ml (P less than 0.001). In six dogs, prostaglandin E also was released. Mean postocclusion aortic levels were 0.24 +/- 0.01 ng/ml; coronary sinus, 0.44 +/- 0.01 ng/ml (P less than 0.001). There was no release of prostaglandin A. To examine the site of prostaglandin release, simultaneous samples from the aorta, the coronary sinus, and the great cardiac vein were obtained before and after left circumflex artery occlusion in six additional studies. The great cardiac vein drained effluent from nonischemic myocardium, whereas the coronary sinus drainage included blood from both ischemic and nonischemic zones. All six dogs demonstrated prostaglandin F release from the ischemic region. Mean postocclusion aortic prostaglandin F was 0.32 +/- 0.01 ng/ml. Coronary sinus prostaglandin F was 1.69 +/- 0.03 ng/ml (P less than 0.001), whereas the great cardiac vein level remained at 0.34 +/- 0.01 ng/ml (P greater than 0.05). Prostaglandin E was released from both ischemic and nonischemic regions. Mean aortic prostaglandin E was 0.21 +/- 0.01 ng/ml; great cardiac vein, 0.55 +/- 0.02 ng/ml (P less than 0.001); and coronary sinus, 1.07 +/- 0.04 ng/ml (P less than 0.001). These results have led us to conclude that the different local availability of prostaglandins E and F may influence the cardiac response to ischemia.