Excess amounts of NO produced by iNOS appear to contribute to the progression of myocardial damage in myocarditis. AG may prove to be useful in the treatment of myocarditis.

The intramural coronary artery (IMCA) with a diameter of 50–500 μm is critical for blood supply to the inner layers of heart muscle. We introduced digital measurement to microangiography using monochromatic synchrotron radiation and quantified branching patterns of the IMCA, the epicardial coronary artery (EPCA), and the distal ileal artery (DIA). The pre- and postbranching diameters were measured (95–1,275 μm) in seven dogs. A typical arterial segment divided into two nearly equivalent branches, and a regression line of daughter-to-mother diameter plots was almost identical among the EPCA ( y = 0.838 x − 16.7 in μm), IMCA ( y = 0.737 x− 2.18), and DIA ( y = 0.755 x + 8.63). However, a considerable difference was present at a segment where a proximal IMCA branched off from an EPCA ( y = 0.182 x + 90.2). Moreover, a proximal IMCA diameter had no relationship to the branching order from an EPCA. The precision of this method was confirmed by the good correlation of diameter measurements between two independent observers ( r = 0.999, y = 1.02 x − 1.07). In conclusion, using digital microangiography we demonstrated that the self-similar branching pattern of coronary arteries was discrete at the connection between the IMCA and EPCA.

In vivo vascular endothelial growth factor 165 gene transfer promoted angiogenesis and was an effective approach to treating microvascular myocardial ischemia.

During sympathetic nerve stimulation, the vasoconstrictive actions of NPY are masked by norepinephrine under intact alpha-adrenoceptor conditions, manifest during alpha-blockade and modulated by KATP channel activity.

In 8 dogs, in situ microangiography using synchrotron radiation visualized penetrating transmural arteries (PTAs) with a diameter of >60 μm and allowed quantitation of vessel diameters of >140 μm. Myocardial contraction reduced the vascular short-axial diameters to 87 ± 17% ( n = 62, P < 0.001, paired t-test) of the end-diastolic values and increased the longitudinal dimension to 129 ± 5% ( n = 45, P < 0.001). The diameter reduction in the subendocardial PTA segments was significantly more marked than that in the subepicardial PTA segments (60 ± 12 vs. 88 ± 12%, n=13, P < 0.001, paired t-test). Intracoronary administration of dobutamine (0.1 μg ⋅ kg−1 ⋅ min−1) increased, and in contrast, partial clamping of the coronary artery (ischemia) decreased, the configurational changes. To-and-fro blood flow was clearly observed in PTAs with visual identification of capacitive backflow, resistive forward flow during ischemia on coronary arteriography, and even under baseline conditions in coronary venography. Thus this method advances our understanding of mechanical influences on the coronary circulation.

No abstract

We examined whether transmyocardial revascularization (TMR) relieves myocardial ischemia by increasing regional perfusion via the transmural channels in acute canine experiments. Regional blood flow during transient coronary ligation (2 min) was compared before and 30 min after TMR, and at the third transient ischemia the mid-left ventricle (LV) was cut and immediately frozen along the short axis for the analysis of NADH fluorescence in the regions around the TMR channels. In low-resolution analysis (2-4 g tissue or 2-3 cm(2) area), regional perfusion was not significantly altered after TMR, and NADH fluorescence was observed throughout the ischemic region without significant spatial variation. High-resolution analysis (2.8 mg, 1 mm x 1 mm) revealed that the flow after TMR was lower, and NADH fluorescence was higher in the regions close to the channels (1-2 mm) than in the regions 3-4 mm away from them. Creating TMR channels did not improve the regional perfusion and rather aggravated the local ischemia in the vicinity of the channels in the immediate phase.

No abstract