Edaravone preserves coronary microvascular endothelial function after ischemia/reperfusion on the beating canine heart in vivo

We examined whether edaravone (3-methyl-1-phenyl-2-pyrazolin-5-one), a free radical scavenger, exerts its protective effect on coronary microvessels after ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) in vivo. Ninety-minute coronary occlusion followed by reperfusion was performed in 16 open-chest dogs with and without edaravone administration. Coronary small artery (≥100 μm in size) and arteriolar (<100 μm) vasodilation, in the presence of endothelium-dependent (acetylcholine) or -independent (papaverine) vasodilators, was directly observed using intravital microscopy before and after I/R. I/R impaired microvascular vasodilation in response to acetylcholine, whereas administration of edaravone preserved the response in microvessels of both sizes, but to a greater extent in the coronary small arteries. No significant changes were noted with papaverine administration. In the edaravone group, the fluorescent intensity from reactive oxygen species (ROS) was lower, whereas nitric oxide (NO) intensity was higher relative to controls in the microvessels of the ischemic area. In conclusion, edaravone preserves coronary microvascular endothelial function after I/R in vivo. These effects, which were NO-mediated, were attributed to the ROS scavenging properties of edaravone.