Abstract

Many compounds have been shown to prevent reperfusion injury in various animal models, although to date, translation into clinic has revealed several obstacles. Therefore, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute convened a working group to discuss reasons for such failure. As a result, the concept of adequately powered, blinded, randomized studies for preclinical development of a compound has been urged. We investigated the effects of a fibrin-derived peptide Bbeta(15-42) in acute and chronic rodent models of ischemia-reperfusion at three different study centers (Universities of Dusseldorf and Vienna, TNO Biomedical Research). A total of 187 animals were used, and the peptide was compared with the free radical scavenger Tempol, CD18 antibody, alpha-C5 antibody, and the golden standard, ischemic preconditioning. We show that Bbeta(15-42) robustly and reproducibly reduced infarct size in all models of ischemia-reperfusion. Moreover, the peptide significantly reduced plasma levels of the cytokines interleukin 1beta, tumor necrosis factor alpha, and interleukin 6. In rodents, Bbeta(15-42) inhibits proinflammatory cytokine release and is cardioprotective during ischemia-reperfusion injury.