Oxidant-antioxidant balance: some observations from studies of ischemia-reperfusion in isolated perfused rat hearts.

Alteration in oxidant-antioxidant balance is a key feature of many common vascular diseases. Using an isolated perfused heart model, we found that (a) xanthine oxidase-derived oxygen radicals contributed to ischemia-reperfusion injury; (b) addition of antioxidants within or outside erythrocytes decreased injury following ischemia-reperfusion; (c) endotoxin pretreatment increased myocardial catalase activity and decreased injury following ischemia-reperfusion; (d) interleukin pretreatment increased myocardial glucose-6-phosphate activity and decreased ischemia-reperfusion injury, and (e) neutrophils mediated tolerance to a subsequent oxidative stress by causing a small oxidant stress that in turn increased antioxidant protection mechanisms.