Activation of alpha 1-adrenoceptors is not essential for the mediation of ischaemic preconditioning in rat heart

1. The aim of the present study was to clarify the role of alpha1-adrenoceptors in the mechanism of ischaemic preconditioning (IP). 2. Rat isolated perfused hearts were either non- preconditioned, preconditioned with 5 min ischaemia or treated for 5 min with alpha1-adrenoceptor agonists (50 micromol/L phenylephrine; 0.1, 0.5 and 1 micromol/L methoxamine) before being subjected to 45 min of sustained ischaemia followed by 60 min reperfusion. 3. Within each of the above protocols, hearts were divided into groups to which alpha1-adrenoceptor antagonists (prazosin, 5'-methyl urapidil and chloroethylclonidine (CEC)) were administered. Functional recovery and infarct size were used as indices of the effects of ischaemia. Ischaemic contracture characteristics and maximal diastolic pressure during reflow were also assessed. 4. Blockade of alpha(1)-adrenoceptors with prazosin or the subtype-selective antagonists 5'-methyl urapidil and CEC did not abolish the protective effect of IP with respect to both functional recovery and infarct size reduction. 5. Protection afforded by phenylephrine was attenuated in hearts treated with prazosin or the alpha(1B)-adrenoceptor- selective antagonist CEC, but not in those treated with the alpha(1A)-adrenoceptor-selective antagonist 5'-methyl urapidil. 6. Treatment with low concentrations of methoxamine, considered to be alpha(1A)-adrenoceptor selective, did not confer any protection to the ischaemic myocardium. 7. A close relationship between accelerated ischaemic contracture and enhanced cardioprotection was observed. 8. The results suggest that alpha1-adrenoceptor stimulation mimics IP, but it is not an essential component in the mechanism behind the protective effect of IP in rat heart. In addition, the present study demonstrates that stimulation of the alpha(1B)- but not the alpha(1A)-adrenoceptor subtype is responsible for the catecholamine-induced protection of ischaemic myocardium in rat.