Macromolecular transport in canine coronary microvasculature.

Coronary vascular osmotic reflection coefficients (sigma dS) for total protein, albumin (Alb), immunoglobulin (Ig)G, and IgM were determined in the anesthetized dog. Myocardial lymph was collected from the anterior interventricular lymphatic trunk, and the sigma dS estimated from filtration rate-independent lymph-to-plasma protein concentration ratios (CL/CPS). Lymph flows of at least 12 times base line were needed to produce filtration rate-independent CL/CPS, and these were achieved in 9 of 12 experiments. In these nine experiments, sigma dS for total protein, Alb, IgG, and IgM were, respectively, 0.67 +/- 0.02 (SE), 0.59 +/- 0.05, 0.70 +/- 0.03, and 0.87 +/- 0.01. The data were fitted to a model that showed that transvascular fluid and solute flux could be described by two populations of pores. A large pore system with an equivalent radius of 235 A was responsible for 39% of the transvascular volume flow. A small pore system less than 53 A accounted for the remaining flow. In a second group of experiments (n = 8), 60 min of ischemia decreased the sigma dS to 0.27 +/- 0.03, 0.07 +/- 0.05, 0.22 +/- 0.03, and 0.69 +/- 0.04 for total protein, Alb, IgG, and IgM, respectively. A single population of pores of 220 A could describe the entire transvascular volume flow. These results indicate that coronary vascular protein permeability is moderately high and can be increased significantly by ischemia.