Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications, Vol.314, No.3, 849-853, 2004
Role of Na+-Ca2+ exchanger in myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury: evaluation using a heterozygous Na+-Ca2+ exchanger knockout mouse model
We used Na+-Ca2+ exchanger (NCX) knockout mice to evaluate the effects of NCX in cardiac function and the infarct size after ischemia/reperfusion injury. The contractile function in NCX KO mice hearts was significantly better than that in wild type (WT) mice hearts after ischemia/reperfusion and the infarct size was significantly small in NCX KO mice hearts compared with that in WT mice hearts. NCX is critically involved in the development of ischemia/reperfusion-induced myocardial injury and therefore the inhibition of NCX function may contribute to cardioprotection against ischemia/reperfusion injury. (C) 2003 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.