Hypoxic vasodilatation in isolated, perfused guinea-pig heart: an analysis of the underlying mechanisms.

1. The mechanisms underlying hypoxic dilatation of coronary arteries were studied in isolated guinea-pig hearts perfused with physiological salt solution at 37 degrees C. The hearts were perfused at a constant rate of 3-10 ml min-1; coronary perfusion pressure (CPP) and isovolumetric left ventricular pressure (LVP) were measured with piezoresistive transducers. 2. Addition of the K+ channel opener cromakalim (500 nM) to the perfusate caused a maximal vasodilatation in beating hearts, i.e. a decrease in CPP of about 50%. Switching from normal perfusate (partial pressure of O2 (PO2), 650-700 mmHg) to hypoxic perfusate (PO2, 9-10 mmHg) caused a similar vasodilatation. Both of these effects were prevented by 2 microM-glibenclamide, a blocker of ATP-sensitive potassium channels. Hypoxic vasodilatation was accompanied by a marked decrease in LVP, which was reduced by 56 +/- 22% (mean +/- S.D.) in the presence of glibenclamide. 3. In hearts arrested by increasing the K+ concentration of the perfusate to 15 mM, the addition of the adenosine-uptake inhibitor dipyridamole evoked a maximal vasodilatation and this was inhibited by 76 +/- 7% in the presence of glibenclamide. 4. The adenosine antagonist 8-phenyltheophylline (8-PT; 5 microM) inhibited the vasodilatation induced by dipyridamole by 88 +/- 10%. In contrast, hypoxic vasodilatation was unaffected by 5 microM 8-PT. This suggests that hypoxic dilatation of coronary arteries is not mediated by release of adenosine from cardiomyocytes. 5. In order to test whether release of endothelium-derived relaxing factor (EDRF) contributed to hypoxic vasodilatation we blocked EDRF synthesis with N omega-nitro-L-arginine (NNA). When applied at a perfusion rate of 10 ml min-1 to arrested hearts, 10 microM-NNA increased CPP by 35% and prolonged the delay between application of hypoxic solution and half-maximal vasodilatation from 52 +/- 9 to 129 +/- 29 s. 6. Under control conditions the relation between perfusion rate and the CPP measured in the steady state was linear. In the presence of 10 microM-NNA coronary resistance was increased more than twofold at low perfusion rates; at perfusion rates between 4 and 10 ml min-1 coronary resistance decreased progressively. This change in the pressure-flow relationship may be responsible for the alterations in the time course of hypoxic vasodilatation induced by NNA. 7. In order to test whether changes in energy metabolism in coronary smooth muscle cells were responsible for hypoxic vasodilatation we blocked glycolysis by replacing the glucose in the perfusate with deoxyglucose (DOG).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)