Abstract: Objective: To investigate the effect of dantrolene on the activities of enzymes of glycometabolism in rats with myocardial ischemia-reperfusion. Methods: Sixteen healthy male Wistar rats were used in the Langendorff isolated heart perfusion system. The hearts were randomly divided into two groups: control group and dantrolene-treated group, with eight rats in each. The hearts in control group were subjected to 30 min of global ischemia and 60 min of retrograde reperfusion. The hearts in dantrolene-treated group were perfused for 20 min in the working mode, in the presence of 5 μM dantrolene, and then were subjected to 30 min of global ischemia and 60 min of reperfusion. The activities of phosphofructokinase-1(PFK), pyruvate kinase(PK), hexokinase(HK) and isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) were determined. Results: The hemodynamic variables had no change except for coronary flow increased (P<0.01). Compared with the control group, the activities of PFK, PK, HK and IDH in dantrolene-treated group were significantly decreased (P<0.05). Conclusion: Dantrolene has a protective effect in myocardial ischemia-reperfusion by reducing the activities of glycolytic enzymes and isocitrate dehydrogenase, slowing the glucose metabolism and thereby enhancing the ability to recover the heart function during ischemia-reperfusion.

Key words: dantrolene, myocardial reperfusion injury, phosphofructokinase-1(PFK), pyruvate kinase(PK), hexokinase(HK), isocitrate dehydrogenase(IDH)