FR167653, a cytokine-suppressive agent, reduces myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury in rats.

FR167653 inhibits the production of inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) in human monocytes in a dose-dependent manner. We examined the effects of FR167653 on the propagation of myocardial infarction resulting from coronary occlusion-reperfusion and the time course of expression of these cytokines in myocardial tissue in rats. Myocardial infarction was induced by coronary ligation for 20 minutes followed by 2 hours of reperfusion. Although hemodynamic parameters did not differ significantly during coronary occlusion-reperfusion, the size of the infarct was significantly reduced by intravenous administration of FR167653 before occlusion (p < 0.01). mRNA levels of IL-1beta and TNF-alpha assessed by the reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction method were significantly increased during coronary occlusion-reperfusion in the ischemic myocardium. Treatment with FR167653, however, significantly reduced the increased expression of these cytokines. These results indicate that the expression of inflammatory cytokines increases in the ischemic-reperfused myocardium and that the inhibition of the increased expression of cytokines by FR167653 effectively reduces myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury.