Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 24, 2026
Improvement of a Closed Chest Porcine Myocardial Infarction Model by Standardization of Tissue and Blood Sampling Procedures
Published on: March 12, 2018
Diazoxide Attenuates Ischemic Myocardial Injury in a Porcine Model
Henna Elisa Sarja1, Tuomas Anttila1, Caius Mustonen1
1Research Unit of Surgery, Anesthesia and Intensive Care, University of Oulu and Medical Research Center, Oulu, Finland.
Background:
We hypothesized that diazoxide, a mitochondrial ATP-sensitive potassium channel opener, has cardioprotective effects during acute myocardial ischemia. Diazoxide is suggested to act through protein kinase Cε (PKCε) activation.
Methods:
Twelve piglets were randomly assigned to receive intravenous infusion of diazoxide (3.5 mg/kg) with solvent or only solvent (6 animals per group) before cardiac ischemia. Myocardial ischemia was induced by occluding the left circumflex artery (LCX) for 40 minutes. The reperfusion and follow-up period lasted for three hours. Throughout the experiment hemodynamic measurements and blood samples were collected, and after the follow-up period the hearts were harvested for transmission electron microscopy (TEM) as well as histopathological and immunohistochemical analyses.
Results:
TEM showed less ischemic damage on a cellular level in the diazoxide group (P = .004) than in the control group. Creatinine kinase MB levels (Pt*g = .030) were lower, and oxygen consumption (Pt*g = .037) and delivery (Pg = .038) were higher in the diazoxide group compared to the controls.
Conclusion:
Diazoxide preserves myocardial cellular structure and cellular function, and thus it may have benefits in treating ischemic myocardial injury.
