Beneficial Effects of Oxfenicine on the Hypoxic Rat Atria

CARREGAL M; VARELA A; DALAMON V; SACKS S; SAVINO EA

ARCHIVES OF PHYSIOLOGY AND BIOCHEMISTRY

Taylor & Francis

Año: 1995 vol. 103 p. 45 - 49

1381-3455

During hypoxia the isolated rat atria released lactate into the bathing medium and underwent a rise of resting tension and a decline of the decline of the peak developed tension and pacemaker frequency. The atria from 24 h fasted rats, which oxidize faster their endogenous triacylglycerol pool, showed greater functional disturbances during hypoxia and a smaller recovery after reoxygenation than those  from fasted rats. Oxfenicine, wich is a selective  inhibitor of carnitine palmitoyltransferase I, attenuated the rise of resting tension and improved the post-hypoxic recovery of peak tension in the atria from fasted rats. The decline of the pacemaker frequency as well as the lactate outpout were not altered by the inhibitor. Present data show that oxfenicine ameliorated same of the hypoxic functional disturbances. Inasmuch lactate output did not change and these effects manefested only in the atria predisposed to the utilization of endogenous lipids, it may be inferred that oxfenicine preserved the atria functions through the inhibition of the fatty-acid oxidation.