The Annals of Thoracic Surgery, Vol 55, 490-492, Copyright © 1993 by The Society of Thoracic Surgeons
Pentoxifylline decreases cyclosporine-induced renal endothelin release and vasoconstriction
M Carrier, LP Perrault, F Tronc, DJ Stewart and CL Pelletier
Department of Surgery, Montreal Heart Institute, Quebec, Canada.
Cyclosporine (CSA) causes an acute vasoconstriction of renal artery and a
significant increase in renal endothelin release. Pentoxifylline, a
vasodilator, has been suggested to prevent CSA toxicity. To study the
effect of pentoxifylline treatment on CSA-related vasoconstriction and
endothelin release, a model of renal autoperfusion in the dog was used.
Oral pentoxifylline at the dose of 400 mg three times daily for 3 days was
given to 15 dogs. Pure powder CSA (10 mg) was injected into the isolated
renal artery perfused at constant flow; changes in perfusion pressure
reflected variations in vascular resistance. In the pentoxifylline-treated
group (15 dogs), the infusion of CSA caused an average increase of 27 +/- 8
mm Hg in renal perfusion pressure, compared with 60 +/- 10 mm Hg in a
control group of 8 untreated animals (p < or = 0.05). Plasma
concentration of endothelin in the renal vein increased from an average of
1.2 +/- 0.2 pg/mL before to 2.4 +/- 0.5 pg/mL after CSA administration (p
< or = 0.05) in the control group, whereas it did not change
significantly in the pentoxifylline-treated group. Thus, oral pretreatment
with pentoxifylline significantly decreased the renal vasoconstriction and
endothelin release due to CSA administration.
