Cardioprotective effect of a dual acting epoxyeicosatrienoic acid analogue towards ischaemia reperfusion injury

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Epoxyeicosatrienoic acids (EETs) are cytochrome P450 epoxygenase metabolites of arachidonic acid that are metabolized into dihydroxyepoxyeicosatrienoic acids (DHET) by soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH). The current investigations were performed to examine the cardioprotective effects of UA-8 (13-(3-propylureido)tridec-8-enoic acid), a synthetic compound that possesses both EET-mimetic and sEH inhibitory properties, against ischaemia-reperfusion injury. EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH Hearts from C57BL/6 mice were perfused in Langendorff mode and subjected to ischaemia reperfusion. Mechanistic studies involved co-perfusing hearts with either 14,15-EEZE (a putative EET receptor antagonist), wortmannin or PI-103 (class-I PI3K inhibitor). H9c2 cells were utilized to investigate the protective effects against mitochondrial injury following anoxia reoxygenation. KEY RESULTS Perfusion of UA-8 significantly improved postischaemic left ventricular developed pressure (LVDP) and reduced infarction following ischaemia reperfusion compared with control and 11,12-EET. UA-7 (13-(2-(butylamino)-2-oxoacetamido)tridec-8(Z)-enoic acid), a compound lacking sEH inhibitory properties, also improved postischaemic LVDP, while co-perfusion with 14,15-EEZE, wortmannin or PI-103 attenuated the improved recovery. UA-8 prevented anoxia-reoxygenation induced loss of mitochondrial membrane potential and cell death in H9c2 cells, which was blocked by co-treatment of PI-103. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS UA-8 provides significant cardioprotection against ischaemia reperfusion injury. The effects are attributed to EETs mimetic properties, which limits mitochondrial dysfunction via class-I PI3K signalling.