Effects of Pentoxifylline and Prostaglandin E1 on Cold Blood Perfusion Studied by Red Blood Cell Deformability

Abstract

The effects of pentoxifylline and prostaglandin E₁ (PGE₁) on red blood cell deformability during cold blood perfusion were studied by means of a filtration method. The deformability of normal red blood cells decreased with the temperature transition from 20° to 15°C (transit time: 3.5, 5.8, 25, and 99 seconds at 37°, 20°, 15°, and 10°C respectively). The effects of both pentoxifylline and PGE₁ were not noticeable at 37°C but became significant with hypothermia (5.0, 12, and 48 seconds at 20°, 15°, and 10°C, respectively, in samples with pentoxifylline of 0.3 mg/ml; 5.3, 13, and 46 seconds at 20°, 15°, and 10°C, respectively, in those with PGE₁ of 40 ng/ml).

The results in this study suggest that pretreatment of blood by pentoxifylline or PGE₁ could improve coronary microcirculation perfused with cold blood cardioplegic solutions owing to significant improvement of the deformability of red blood cells.