Caffeinated coffee blunts the myocardial protective effects of statins against ischemia-reperfusion injury in the rat

Purpose We asked whether caffeinated coffee ( CC) blunts the infarct size ( IS)-limiting effects of atorvastatin ( ATV). Background Adenosine receptor activation is essential for mediating the IS-limiting effects of statins. Caffeine is a nonspecific adenosine receptor blocker, and thus drinking CC may block the myocardial protective effects of statins. Methods Rat received 3-day ATV (10mg/kg/day) or water by oral gavage once daily. Drinking water was replaced by water + sugar (7.5 g/100 ml), CC with sugar, or decaffeinated coffee ( DC) with sugar. On the 4th day, rats were anesthetized and underwent 30 min of coronary artery occlusion and 4 h reperfusion. Area at risk was assessed by blue dye and infarct size by TTC. Results Body weight and area at risk was comparable among groups. IS was 25.1 +/- 3.9% of the area at risk in the control group. In rats not receiving ATV, CC (25.5 +/- 3.1%) and DC (34.0 +/- 2.8%) did not affect IS. IS was significantly reduced by ATV in the water + sugar (11.7 +/- 0.7%, p= 0.015) and DC (11.5 +/- 1.0%; p< 0.001) groups, but not in the CC group (32.3 +/- 3.0%; p= 0.719). ATV increased myocardial levels of Ser-473 phosphorylated Akt in the water + sugar and DC groups, but not in the CC group. Conclusions CC, but not DC, abrogated the IS-limiting effects of ATV by blocking the adenosine receptors and preventing the phosphorylation of Akt. CC did not affect IS in rats not receiving ATV.