Ischaemic cardiac hyperaemia: role of nitric oxide and other mediators

In the perfused guinea-pig heart reactive hyperaemia (RH) after occlusion of coronary flow (1-60 s) was inhibited by 100-60% with NG-nitro-L-arginine (100 microM) and to a lesser extent (by 35%) after 8-phenyltheophylline (10 microM), but not by indomethacin (5 microM). Inhibition of adenosine deaminase by erythro-9-(2-hydroxy-3-nonyl)adenine (EHNA) (5 microM) not only increased the concentration of adenosine in the coronary perfusate, but also prolonged the duration of RH. RH induced cardiac generation of prostacyclin, nitric oxide and adenosine as indicated by the appearance of 6-keto-PGF1 alpha, cyclic GMP, adenosine, inosine, hypoxanthine, xanthine and urate in the perfusate. Only NO and adenosine, but not prostacyclin, were responsible for RH. RH after short-term (1-10 s) coronary occlusion was mediated by NO, whereas adenosine and NO maintained RH that followed after longer (20 s-10 min) periods of cardiac ischaemia. Prostacyclin never participated in the mediation of RH.