Muscle Tissue Oxygen Tension and Oxidative Metabolism during Ischemia and Reperfusion

Abstract

Recent studies have shown a relationship between alterations in tissue oxygen metabolism and cellular changes following ischemia and reperfusion, such as energy store depletion and intracellular acidosis. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between tissue energy metabolism and intramuscular tissue oxygen tension in the mobilized latissimus dorsi muscle. The latissimus dorsi muscle was raised in New Zealand white rabbits (n = 10, 2.5 +/- 0.5 kg). During 4 h of ischemia and 2 h of reperfusion, the intramuscular tissue oxygen tension (Licox PO2-microcatheter probe) and the status of phosphorylated muscle energy metabolites were measured using a high-field 31P-NMR spectrometer. Linear correlation was performed between 31P-NMR data and tissue oxygen tension readings. The tissue oxygen tension (PO2) values correlated significantly with phosphocreatine (PCr) (r = 0.96, P < 0.001), beta-adenosin triphosphate (beta-ATP) (r = 0.64, P <0.01), and intracellular pH (r = 0.82, P <0.001). On the basis of these findings, we conclude that the data provided by tissue oxygen tension measurement offer a real time minimally invasive estimate of muscle oxidative metabolism during ischemia and reperfusion.