Chemiluminescence phenomena in the ischemic heart muscle

Dog experiments were performed using the measurement of tissue chemiluminescence to clarify the peculiar role of reactive oxygen species in ischemic heart damage. Following left thoracotomy and pericardiotomy, the left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD) was ligated for 1, 2, 3 and 24 hours. Epicardial and endocardial muscle specimens were excised, homogenized, and centrifuged to detect chemiluminescent differences in the supernatants after t-butyl hydroperoxide induction at each time interval. Characteristic alterations were found between the infarcted region, border zone and intact area. The induced photoemission differed as to altered kinetics and intensity values. It is assumed that interrelations exist between the observed light burst and the actual scavenger state. Antioxidant administration advantageously modified the chemiluminescence effect, especially at the border zone. Induced chemiluminescence proved to be a good method to characterize ischemically altered myocardial cellular metabolism.