Nitric oxide synthase inhibitor,nitro-iminoethyl-L-ornithine,reduces ischemia-reperfusion injury in rabbit skeletal muscle

Nitric oxide (NO), originally identified as the mediator of endothelial-dependent relaxation of vascular smooth muscle, is now known to also have cytotoxic effects under certain conditions. Thus, we have investigated the effects of inhibition of NO synthesis on ischemia/reperfusion injury in the rabbit rectus femoris muscle. Three and a half hours of ischemia and 24 hours of reperfusion resulted in a 56% loss of viability. In muscles receiving an infusion of the nitric oxide synthase inhibitor, L-NIO (30 μM), the loss of viability was reduced to 15%. Post-ischemic blood flow was increased in muscles receiving a saline infusion, whereas there was a marked decrease in blood flow for at least the first 60 minutes of reperfusion in muscles treated with L-NIO (30 μM). The increase in myeloperoxidase levels (indicative of neutrophil accumulation) following 24 hours of reperfusion was attenuated with L-NIO infusion by approximately 50% and the reperfusion-induced edema was also attenuated in L-NIO treated muscle. These findings suggest that endogenous NO production during ischemia/reperfusion injury may be deleterious to muscle survival. © 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.