Attenuation of liver normothermic ischemia-reperfusion injury by preservation of mitochondrial functions with S-15176, a potent trimetazidine derivative

We investigated the antiischemic properties of a new compound, S-15176, in an experimental model of rat liver subjected to 120-min normothermic ischemia followed by 30-min reperfusion. Rats were divided into groups, pretreated with different doses of S-15176 (1.25, 2.5, 5 and 10 mg/kg/day by intramuscular injection) or solvent alone, and subjected to the ischemia-reperfusion process. Another group served as the sham-operated controls. Ischemia-reperfusion induced huge alterations of hepatocyte functions, namely, a decrease in ATP content and bile flow, and membrane leakage of alanine aminotransferase (ALAT) and aspartate aminotransferase (ASAT). These effects were associated with alterations in mitochondrial functions characterized by (1) a decrease in ATP synthesis, (2) a decrease in NAD(P)H levels and mitochondrial membrane potential, and (3) an increase in mitochondrial swelling reflecting the generation of permeability transition. Pretreatment of rats with S-15176 alleviated these deleterious ischemia-reperfusion effects at both the cellular and mitochondrial levels in a dose-dependent manner. The protection of mitochondrial functions was almost complete at a dosage of 10 mg/kg/day. In addition, in vitro, S-15176 totally abolished the swelling of isolated mitochondria induced by a calcium overload with an IC50 value of 10 muM These data demonstrate that S-15176 protects mitochondria against the deleterious effects of ischemia-reperfusion and suggest that this protective effect could be related to the inhibition of the mitochondrial permeability transition. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.