Plasma metabolic disturbances and reperfusion injury following partial limb ischaemia in man

Despite efficient revascularisation procedures for vascular disease, the limb can occasionally be lost following reperfusion. One contributing factor might be the formation of oxygen free radicals. This study attempts to describe the conditions necessary for oxy-radical formation from adenine nucleotide breakdown products and the role of plasma creatine content as a marker of cellular injury. Twelve patients undergoing aortic reconstructive surgery were studied. Only partial ischaemia of the lower limbs was induced by the aortic clamping, since varying degrees of collateral circulation existed. Radial arterial and external iliac venous blood was obtained simultaneously before, during and after cross-clamping of the aorta, and plasma levels of ATP, ADP, hypoxanthine, phosphocreatine, creatine, creatinine and lactate measured using luminescence and spectrophotometry. Venous creatine content increased during ischaemia and was doubled 30 min after recirculation. This increase was possibly due to leakage following cellular injury agreeing with a previously observed decrease in muscle tissue creatine content. The iliac arterio-venous difference of hypoxanthine and lactate markedly increased immediately post-ischaemia, while the phosphocreatine difference decreased. Plasma hypoxanthine was abundant in the leg on reoxygenation. The existence of a xanthine oxidase system in skeletal muscle could produce favourable conditions for oxy-radical formation through hypoxanthine degradation, which may contribute to the known muscle tissue injury.