PPAR-γ activation fails to provide myocardial protection in ischemia and reperfusion in pigs

Abstract

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)-γ modulates substrate metabolism and inflammatory responses. In experimental rats subjected to myocardial ischemia-reperfusion (I/R), thiazolidinedione PPAR-γ activators reduce infarct size and preserve left ventricular function. Troglitazone is the only PPAR-γ activator that has been shown to be protective in I/R in large animals. However, because troglitazone contains both α-tocopherol and thiazolidinedione moieties, whether PPAR-γ activation per se is protective in myocardial I/R in large animals remains uncertain. To address this question, 56 pigs were treated orally for 8 wk with troglitazone (75 mg·kg−1·day−1), rosiglitazone (3 mg·kg−1·day−1), or α-tocopherol (73 mg·kg−1·day−1, equimolar to troglitazone dose) or received no treatment. Pigs were then anesthetized and subjected to 90 min of low-flow regional myocardial ischemia and 90 min of reperfusion. Myocardial expression of PPAR-γ, determined by ribonuclease protection assay, increased with troglitazone and rosiglitazone compared with no treatment. Rosiglitazone had no significant effect on myocardial contractile function (Frank-Starling relations), substrate uptake, or expression of proinflammatory cytokines during I/R compared with untreated pigs. In contrast, preservation of myocardial contractile function and lactate uptake were greater and cytokine expression was attenuated in pigs treated with troglitazone or α-tocopherol compared with untreated pigs. Multivariate analysis indicated that presence of an α-tocopherol, but not a thiazolidinedione, moiety in the test compound was significantly related to greater contractile function and lactate uptake and lower cytokine expression during I/R. We conclude that PPAR-γ activation is not protective in a porcine model of myocardial I/R. Protective effects of troglitazone are attributable to its α-tocopherol moiety. These findings, in conjunction with prior rat studies, suggest interspecies differences in the response to PPAR-γ activation in the heart.