ramiprilat and Ventricular-Fibrillation

Aminopeptidase P and angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) are responsible for the metabolism of exogenously administered bradykinin in the coronary circulation of the rat. It has been shown that ACE inhibitors decrease cytosolic enzyme release from the ischemic rat heart and reduce reperfusion-induced ventricular arrhythmias by increasing endogenous levels of bradykinin. It was hypothesized that the aminopeptidase P inhibitor apstatin could do the same. In an isolated perfused rat heart preparation subjected to global ischemia and reperfusion, both apstatin and ramiprilat (an ACE inhibitor) significantly decreased creatine kinase (CK) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release. The difference between the postischemia and preischemia levels of released CK was reduced 68% by apstatin and 68% by ramiprilat compared with control. The corresponding reductions in LDH release were 74% for apstatin and 81% for ramiprilat. A combination of the inhibitors was not significantly better than either one alone. Apstatin and ramiprilat also significantly reduced the duration of reperfusion-induced ventricular fibrillation by 69 and 61%, respectively. The antiarrhythmic effect of apstatin was reversed by HOE140, a bradykinin B2-receptor antagonist, suggesting that apstatin is acting by potentiating endogenously formed bradykinin. The results demonstrate that the aminopeptidase P inhibitor apstatin is cardioprotective in this model of cardiac ischemia/ reperfusion injury.

Topics: Adrenergic beta-Antagonists; Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors; Animals; Arrhythmias, Cardiac; Bradykinin; Cardiovascular Agents; Creatine Kinase; Drug Interactions; In Vitro Techniques; L-Lactate Dehydrogenase; Male; Peptides; Perfusion; Protease Inhibitors; Ramipril; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Reperfusion Injury; Ventricular Fibrillation

Local inhibition of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE, kininase II) produces both-attenuation of angiotensin II generation and of bradykinin degradation. To delineate the participation of bradykinin in the cardioprotective actions of ACE inhibitors, experiments were performed in rats and dogs with cardiac ischemia-reperfusion injuries. In isolated perfused working rat hearts with regional myocardial ischemia, bradykinin in concentrations as low as 1 x 10(-9) M increases coronary flow and reduces the incidence and duration of reperfusion ventricular fibrillation. In addition, enzyme activities of lactate dehydrogenase and creatine kinase as well as lactate output were decreased in the venous effluent of bradykinin-perfused hearts, which also showed improved cardiodynamic and metabolic parameters. Even concentrations of bradykinin lower than 1 x 10(-10) M, which were without influence on coronary flow, exerted comparable beneficial metabolic effects connected with reduced incidence and duration of ventricular fibrillation. Combined perfusions with threshold concentrations of bradykinin (1 x 10(-12) M) and the ACE inhibitor ramiprilat (2,58 x 10(-9) M), which were ineffective given alone, resulted in a marked cardioprotective effect. Perfusion with angiotensin II (1 x 10(-9) M) aggravated reperfusion arrhythmias and worsened myocardial metabolism. Bradykinin perfusion prevented this deterioration in a concentration-dependent manner. The bradykinin antagonist D-Arg-[Hyp2, Thi5,8, D-Phe7]-bradykinin (1 x 10(-5)) completely abolished the cardioprotective effects of bradykinin or the ACE inhibitor. However, higher concentrations of bradykinin (1 x 10(-7) M) or ramiprilat (2,58 x 10(-5) M) reversed these properties of the bradykinin antagonist.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Topics: Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors; Animals; Bradykinin; Coronary Disease; Dogs; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Energy Metabolism; Hemodynamics; Myocardial Reperfusion Injury; Myocardium; Organ Culture Techniques; Pyrroles; Ramipril; Rats; Ventricular Fibrillation