Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 15, 2026
Model of Ischemia and Reperfusion Injury in Rabbits
Published on: November 3, 2023
ATP-loaded liposomes effectively protect the myocardium in rabbits with an acute experimental myocardial infarction
Daya D Verma1, William C Hartner, Tatayana S Levchenko
1Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Northeastern University, 360 Huntington Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.
Purpose:
We assessed whether the infusion of ATP-loaded liposomes (ATP-L) can limit the fraction of the irreversibly damaged myocardium in rabbits with an experimental myocardial infarction.
Methods:
ATP-L, empty liposomes (EL), or Krebs-Henseleit (KH) buffer were administered by intracoronary infusion, followed by 30 min of occlusion and 3 h of reperfusion. Unisperse Blue dye was used to demarcate the net size of the occlusion-induced ischemic zone (area at risk) and nitroblue tetrazolium staining was used to detect the final fraction of the irreversibly damaged myocardium within the total area at risk.
Results:
The total size of the area at risk in all experimental animals was approx. 20% wt. of the left ventricle. The final irreversible damage in ATP-L-treated animals was only ca. 30% of the total area at risk as compared with ca. 60% in the group treated with EL (p < 0.009) and ca. 70% in the KH buffer-treated group (p < 0.003).
Conclusions:
ATP-L effectively protected the ischemic heart muscle in rabbits with an experimental myocardial infarction as evidenced by a significantly decreased fraction of the irreversibly damaged heart within the total area at risk. ATP-L may provide an effective exogenous source of the ATP in vivo to protect ischemically damaged cells.
