Accumulation of hyaluronan and tissue edema in experimental myocardial infarction.

Abstract

Experimental myocardial infarction was induced in rats. The myocardial accumulation of hyaluronan (HA) and water during the development of infarction was measured. The extractable HA content of the infarcted area increased progressively from day 1 and on day 3 reached a threefold increase compared with the HA amounts in myocardium of sham operated controls. The relative water content of infarcted areas also increased progressively reaching a maximum value by day 3 and was strongly correlated with the HA accumulation. Affinity histochemistry visualized a thin rim of HA in the endoperimysium in healthy myocardium. By day 2 an interstitial edema with inflammatory cells was apparent. The widened endoperimysium stained extensively for HA. By its water-binding ability, interstitial accumulation of HA will contribute to the interstitial edema in infarcted myocardial tissue. An interstitial edema is likely to influence the electromechanical characteristics of the myocardium and facilitate reentry phenomena due to a loss of contact between muscle cells. The edema also induces an increased extracellular pressure and an altered myocardial wall compliance that might impair myocardial microcirculation. The findings are relevant to an understanding of the beneficial effect of hyaluronidase treatment in limiting cellular damage during myocardial ischemia. (J. Clin. Invest. 1991. 88:1622-1628

Myocardial Extracellular Matrix

“…It was the first GAG discovered in 1934 by Karl Meyer and John W. Palmer 37 and, therefore, most comprehensively described in the heart. [38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50] The expression of hyaluronan is upregulated in experimental models of myocardial infarction (MI), 50 myocarditis, 51 and cardiac hypertrophy. 43,49 In 1985, West et al 52 demonstrated that oligosaccharides derived from high-molecular-weight hyaluronan can have very distinct functions compared with the large hyaluronan variants.…”

Dynamic role of hyaluronan (HYA) in connective tissue activation and inflammation

“…As in any other ischaemic condition an early feature is an unspecific inflammatory reaction in the border zone that surrounds irreversibly damaged tissue, recognized in the form of an interstitial oedema and infiltration of inflammatory cells. We assumed that this inflammatory reaction, although unspecific in its nature, affected the interstitial HYA concentration we evaluated this hypothesis in rats by ligation of the descending branch of the left coronary artery [35], which causes a predictable anterior wall infarction. The HYA content of the infarcted area increased progressively from day 1 and at day 3 reached a maximum that was threefold that of sham operated controls.…”

Migration of bovine aortic smooth muscle cells after wounding injury. The role of hyaluronan and RHAMM.

“…Hyaluronan (HA),' a component of the extracellular matrix, has been implicated in cell locomotion during embryogenesis (8,9), tumor invasion (10), transformation by oncogenes ( 11), and in responses to injury (12)(13)(14). HA has also been shown to stimulate the migration of endothelial cells.…”