The Abundance of Autophagosomes is Increased in Ischemic Pig Myocardium After Reperfusion, Visualization by Advanced Imaging

Background: All forms of heart disease display changes in the level of autophagic flux, rendering autophagy a target for therapeutic gain. Imaging autophagy in the intact heart during stress conditions will contribute to identify the optimal window of autophagy manipulation. Objective: To assess autophagic activity in a pig model of myocardial ischemia-reperfusion using advanced micro- and nanoscopy techniques. Methods and Results: Anesthetized pigs underwent transient occlusion of the left anterior descending (LAD) coronary artery to induce ischemia for 60 min followed by reperfusion for 120 min. To assess autophagic flux, the autophagy inhibitor chloroquine was administrated intravenously at the start of reperfusion in one group of animals. Biopsies from the ischemic and remote myocardium were collected in vivo from each animal before LAD occlusion (baseline), after 60 min of ischemia, and subsequently …