Evaluation of thyroid hormone induced pharmacological preconditioning on cardiomyocyte protection against ischemic-reperfusion injury

Abstract

Ischemic preconditioning (IPC) has been demonstrated to make myocardium transiently more resistant to deleterious effect of prolonged ischemia. The opening of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore (mPTP) at the time of myocardial reperfusion is a critical determinant of cell death. L-thyroxine pre-treatment increases the tolerance of the heart to ischemia and produces cardioprotection similar to ischemic precondition. This study has been designed to investigate the mechanism involved in L-thyroxine-induced cardiomyocyte protection against ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury in rats.