Differential role of sarcolemmal and mitochondrial KATP channels in adenosine-enhanced ischemic preconditioning

Adenosine-enhanced ischemic preconditioning (APC) extends the protection afforded by ischemic preconditioning (IPC) by both significantly decreasing infarct size and significantly enhancing postischemic functional recovery. The purpose of this study was to determine whether APC is modulated by ATP-sensitive potassium (K-ATP) channels and to determine whether this modulation occurs before ischemia or during reperfusion. The role of KATP channels before ischemia (I), during reperfusion (R), or during ischemia and reperfusion (IR) was investigated using the nonspecific K-ATP blocker glibenclamide (Glb), the mitochondrial (mito) K-ATP channel blocker 5-hydroxydecanoate (5-HD), and the sarcolemmal (sarc) KATP channel blocker HMR-1883 (HMR). Infarct size was significantly increased (P < 0.05) in APC hearts with Glb-I, Glb-R, and 5-HD-I treatment and partially with 5-HD-R. Glb-I and Glb-R treatment significantly decreased APC functional recovery (P, 0.05 vs. APC), whereas 5-HD-I and 5-HD-R had no effect on APC functional recovery. HMR-IR significantly decreased postischemic functional recovery (P, 0.05 vs. APC) but had no effect on infarct size. These data indicate that APC infarct size reduction is modulated by mitoK(ATP) channels primarily during ischemia and suggest that functional recovery is modulated by sarcK(ATP) channels during ischemia and reperfusion.