Cardioprotective effect of kappa1-opioid receptor activation and role of cAMP in its realization.

The cardioprotective and antiarrhythmic effects of a selective kappa1-opioid receptor agonist U-50,488 were studied during experimental 45-min total ischemia and 30-min reperfusion of isolated rat heart. The opioid had no effect on the incidence and type of reperfusion arrhythmias. U-50,488 in a concentration of 0.1 microM inhibited reperfusion-induced release of creatine phosphokinase and decreased cAMP concentration in the myocardium by 2 times. These parameters remained unchanged after treatment with U-50,488 in a concentration of 1 microM. The cardioprotective effect of U-50,488 was probably associated with a decrease in cAMP concentration in heart cells. U-50,488 in a concentration of 1 microM produced no cardioprotective effect, which can be explained by its interaction with an unknown non-opioid receptor in cardiomyocytes.