Investigating M101's Effect in Improving Cardiac and Diaphragmatic Mechanical and Functional Properties on Wistar Rat

Abstract

Background: The critical importance of effective oxygen delivery during organ preservation to prevent ischemia-reperfusion injury has been reported in the literature. Moreover, traditional preservation methods often fail to meet oxygenation needs, prompting research into alternatives like hemoglobin-based oxygen carriers (HBOCs) such as M101 provided by HEMARINA. This extracellular hemoglobin, derived from Arenicola marina, shows a high affinity for oxygen and delivers it through a physiological gradient under hypoxic conditions.

Methods: In this context, the mechanical and functional properties of the heart and diaphragm muscles from Wistar rats were evaluated in the presence of M101.

Results: The experiments showed that M101-treated hearts maintained higher contraction amplitudes, heart rates, and coronary flow over time compared to controls, indicating improved functional stability. Furthermore, the M101-treated diaphragm exhibited prolonged contraction and relaxation times, with significant improvements in contraction amplitude at higher stimulation frequencies. Finally, the Burke index revealed reduced fatigue in the M101-treated group compared to the controls.

Conclusions: These findings suggest that M101 significantly enhances the mechanical and functional properties of both tested muscles under experimental conditions. Further research is warranted to unravel these findings and explore clinical applications.

Keywords: diaphragm; heart; hemoglobin M101; mechanical and functional properties; rat.

FIGURE 1

Contraction amplitude developed by the diaphragm in grams as a function of the electrical pulse frequency between the two experimental groups, Control (n = 10) and M101 (n = 12). Mean ± standard error. The conditions of normal distribution and homogeneity of variances were verified. Statistical differences were determined by performing Student's t‐test or the non‐parametric Mann Whitney U test, as appropriate. For each frequency, two different letters indicate a significant difference between the groups (p < 0.05).