Coronary disease & ACSMechanistic study
Vago-splenic signal transduction of cardioprotection in humans
- Mechanistic study
- matched controls
Authors' conclusion
In humans, vagal innervation and the spleen as a relay organ are decisive for the cardioprotective signal transduction of RIC and ATS.
Study context
- Population
- Humans: healthy young volunteers, volunteers with splenectomy and matched controls; plasma dialysate infused into isolated perfused rat hearts subjected to global ischaemia/reperfusion
- Participants
- 10 / 10 / 20
- Comparison
- Plasma dialysate after vs before remote ischaemic conditioning (RIC) or auricular tragus stimulation (ATS), in healthy volunteers, splenectomy and matched controls
- Healthy volunteersn = 10
- Splenectomyn = 10
- Matched controlsn = 20reference
- Outcome
- Infarct size (% ventricular mass) in recipient rat heart
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Infarct size (% ventricular mass), healthy volunteers' dialysate
- Before left RIC
- 36 ± 6%
- Before right RIC
- 34 ± 3%
- Before left ATS
- 31 ± 5%
- Before right ATS
- 35 ± 5%
- After left RIC
- 20 ± 4%
- After right RIC
- 23 ± 6%
- After left ATS
- 19 ± 4%
- After right ATS
- 26 ± 9%
Further findings
Heart rate and heart rate variability
- Not altered by left or right RIC or ATS
Infarct size reduction with IV atropine (subgroup of 6 healthy volunteers)
- Abrogated by intravenous atropine
Infarct size reduction by RIC or ATS, splenectomy vs matched controls
- Abrogated in volunteers with splenectomy, not in matched controls
Original publication
Vago-splenic signal transduction of cardioprotection in humans. Eur Heart J. Published 6 June 2024. doi:10.1093/eurheartj/ehae250
Summarised from the published abstract; every number is checked against it