Effects of pentoxifylline and prostaglandin E1 on cold blood perfusion studied by red blood cell deformability

The effects of pentoxifylline and prostaglandin E1 (PGE1) on red blood cell deformability during cold blood perfusion were studied by means of a filtration method. The deformability of normal red blood cells decreased with the temperature transition from 20 degrees to 15 degrees C (transit time: 3.5, 5.8, 25, and 99 seconds at 37 degrees, 20 degrees, 15 degrees, and 10 degrees C respectively). The effects of both pentoxifylline and PGE1 were not noticeable at 37 degrees C but became significant with hypothermia (5.0, 12, and 48 seconds at 20 degrees, 15 degrees, and 10 degrees C, respectively, in samples with pentoxifylline of 0.3 mg/ml; 5.3, 13, and 46 seconds at 20 degrees, 15 degrees, and 10 degrees C, respectively, in those with PGE1 of 40 ng/ml). The results in this study suggest that pretreatment of blood by pentoxifylline or PGE1 could improve coronary microcirculation perfused with cold blood cardioplegic solutions owing to significant improvement of the deformability of red blood cells.