Functional Analysis of Putative Cardio-Protective Agents in Reperfusion of Whole Rat Heart and Isolated Rat Cardiomyocytes

Abstract

The amino acids, glycine and glutamine have been implicated in myocardial protection against damage which occurs when the ischaemic heart is reperfused. A major focus of this thesis was to investigate whether such protection could be enhanced by simultaneously delivering these amino acids as the dipeptide, L-glycyl-L-glutamine (gly-gln). In addition homocysteine has been implicated in augmented oxidative stress, and recognized as a risk factor for developing cardiovascular disease, but is structurally related to the cardioprotective agent cysteine. A second aim, therefore, was to investigate the little known effects of homocysteine on heart cells.