Dexmedetomidine preconditioning (DP) can mimic pharmacological preconditioning and induce cardiac protection. There are controversies on the roles of coronary endothelia in cardioprotection of dexmedetomidine. Herein, we tested the hypothesis that protection of dexmedetomidine is not endothelial dependent in heart against myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury.

Langendorff-perfused rat hearts were pretreated by 60 mM of potassium to produce endothelial dysfunction (ED), then medicated with dexmedetomidine, and subsequently subjected to 30 min of global ischemia followed by 60 min of reperfusion. To investigate the cardioprotective effect of dexmedetomidine in heart with ED, isolated rat hearts were randomly divided into the following six groups: sham, I/R, DP, ED, ED + I/R, and ED + DP + I/R. Heart rates, left ventricular function, and coronary perfusion pressure were assessed for each heart. Infarct size was evaluated by triphenyltetrazolium chloride staining. High-sensitivity cardiac troponin T (hs-cTNT) of coronary flow perfusion was determined.

After the isolated hearts with pretreatment of 60 mM of potassium chloride, diastolic function of coronary endothelia in performance of response to histamine was significantly decreased (P < 0.05). DP attenuated I/R-induced infarct size of the left ventricle (P < 0.05) and decreased hs-cTNT (P < 0.05). Additionally, left ventricular developed pressure, +dp/dt_max, and -dp/dt_max were elevated in rat hearts pretreated with dexmedetomidine. Furthermore, dexmedetomidine-mediated cardiac protection against I/R injury was still remained in isolated hearts with coronary ED.

Continuous perfusion of 60 mM of potassium for 10 min can produce coronary ED in isolated rat hearts. Dexmedetomidine maintains its protective function against I/R injury in heart with coronary ED. Myocardial protection of dexmedetomidine is non-endothelial function dependent in alleviating I/R injury.