| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
In vitro and in vivo studies suggest that fructose-1,6-diphosphate (FDP), an intermediary glycolytic pathway metabolite, ameliorates ischemic tissue injury through increased high-energy phosphate levels and may therefore have cardioprotective properties in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. We designed a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blinded, sequential-cohort, dose-ranging safety study to test 5 FDP dosage regimens in patients (n = 120; 60 FDP, 60 control) undergoing CABG surgery. Of these dosage regimens, 3 produced no benefit, 1 produced improved cardiac function, and 1 required adjustment as a result of metabolic acidosis. This suggests that we achieved the intended effect of a dose-ranging study. The expected response was observed in patients treated with 250 mg/kg FDP IV before surgery and 2.5 mM FDP as a cardioplegic additive (n = 15). These patients had lower serum creatine kinase-MB levels 2, 4, and 6 h after reper fusion (P < 0.05), fewer perioperative myocardial infarctions (P < 0.05), and improved postoperative cardiac function, as evidenced by higher left ventricular stroke work index (LVSWI) 6, 12, and 16 h (P < 0.01) and cardiac index (CI) at 12 and 16 h (P < 0.05) after reperfusion. Overall efficacy of FDP was tested across all regimens that included IV FDP (n = 88; 44 FDP, 44 control) using 2 (FDP versus placebo) x 3 (dose size) factorial analyses. Area-under-curve (AUC) analysis demonstrated a significant increase in CI (AUC-16h, P = 0.013) and LVSWI (AUC-16h, P = 0.003) and reduction in CK-MB levels (AUC-16h, P < 0.05) in FDP-treated patients. The internal consistency of this dataset suggests that FDP may provide myocardial protection in CABG surgery and supports previous laboratory and clinical studies of FDP in ischemic heart disease. IMPLICATIONS: Fructose-1,6-diphosphate (FDP) may increase high-energy phosphate levels under anaerobic conditions and therefore ameliorate ischemic injury. A dose-ranging safety study for FDP was conducted in patients undergoing coronary artery surgery. Preischemic provision of FDP significantly improved cardiac function and reduced perioperative ischemic injury. These myocardial protective effects may improve patient outcome after cardiac surgery.
Coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery is associated with increased risk of perioperative myocardial injury and cardiac dysfunction. Research suggests that myocardial injury in the surgical setting is also predictive of worse long-term clinical outcome (1). Perioperative myocardial injury in CABG surgery predominantly reflects an archetypal ischemia-reperfusion injury whose timing can be anticipated. As a result, a number of cytoprotective strategies addressing different aspects of the complex ischemia-reperfusion injury cascade have been tested with varying results (2). The majority of interventions attempt to modulate this cascade by targeting potential deleterious downstream events, such as polymorphonuclear leukocyte or platelet activation, or attempt to activate adenosine receptors or open adenosine triphosphate (ATP)-sensitive potassium channels. A more global approach to preventing ischemia-reperfusion injury would be an attempt to directly increase high-energy phosphate (ATP) production. Glucose-insulin-potassium (GIK) infusion is one such strategy. In fact, GIK as a supplement to intracoronary thrombolysis has significantly improved in-hospital and long-term follow-up survival after acute myocardial infarction (3,4). Fructose-1,6-diphosphate (FDP), an endogenous high-energy glycolytic pathway intermediary, also enhances ATP production (Fig. 1). FDP may, however, have several theoretical advantages over GIK. These include independence of insulin action, glycolytic pathway entrance distal to the rate-limiting enzyme phosphofructokinase, and no need for phosphorylation (and hence ATP consumption) before its catabolism. Evidence supporting a role for FDP in alleviating ischemia-reperfusion injury includes increased high-energy phosphate production in several tissues, including ischemic/reperfused myocardium (59), and attenuation of intracellular calcium influx (1012), neutrophil adhesion to endothelium (13), platelet activation (14), and free-radical production (15). To this effect, numerous in vitro and in vivo studies have demonstrated that FDP ameliorates ischemic injury in myocardium (69,1618), brain (19,20), kidney (21), and intestine (22).
The reduction in myocyte ischemic injury translates into improved hemodynamic function in isolated rat (7,17,18), isolated rabbit (8,9,23), and in situ dog (6,16,24) hearts subjected to either ischemia (6,24), ischemia and reperfusion (8,9,18,25), or anoxia and reoxygenation (7,17). These studies are further supported by clinical studies demonstrating that FDP improved hemodynamic function in patients with acute myocardial infarction (26) and chronic ischemic heart disease (2729). However, the potential beneficial effects of FDP have not been evaluated in patients undergoing cardiac surgery. We hypothesized that FDP administration might prevent the deleterious effects of an expected period of ischemia with subsequent reperfusion, thereby improving myocardial performance and patient outcome after CABG surgery. Our goal was to establish tolerability and possible efficacy of FDP through a dose-ranging safety study. This article describes our experience with FDP in patients undergoing CABG surgery.
This study complied with the Declaration of Helsinki (as amended) and Good Clinical Practice Guidelines. After IRB (Hillingdon Health Authority, Middlesex, UK) approval, written informed consent was obtained from patients scheduled for elective CABG surgery using a consent form that complied with Investigational New Drug and Clinical Trial Exemption regulations and guidelines as set out by the Food and Drug Administration (USA) and Medicines Control Agency (UK), respectively. One-hundred-twenty patients with 2 operable coronary artery lesions and preserved ventricular function (left ventricular [LV] ejection fraction >45%) were studied. Exclusion criteria included preoperative inotropic therapy, previous CABG surgery, concurrent valvular or carotid surgery, insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, and fructose intolerance (a metabolic disorder with autosomal recessive inheritance). CordoxTM (CPC-111, Cypros Pharmaceutical Corporation, Carlsbad, CA) consisted of 10% (100 mg/mL) trisodium FDP octahydrate in sterile, pyrogen-free water in glass vials (50 mL) that was acidified to pH 3.9 with 13.37% HCl (1 M), thereby allowing stability for 3 yr at 4°C. This solution was diluted (1:1) with 5% dextrose and infused as a bolus dose over 30 min. The period of infusion was chosen because of the relatively large volumes that were required (a 70-kg patient requires 350 mL). A randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blinded, sequential-cohort, dose-ranging study was designed to investigate the safety of FDP in patients undergoing CABG surgery and its cardioprotective properties, if any. In all stages of the study, patients were randomized (1:1) to receive either FDP or placebo treatment, both administered in a blinded fashion. For the IV studies, 5% dextrose, matched for volume, was used as placebo. For the cardioplegic studies, the control group received unsupplemented cardioplegic solution. Before randomization studies, 5 open-label patients were initially studied to ensure tolerability of IV FDP and 5 to ensure tolerability of FDP-enhanced cardioplegic solution. Dosage and administration regimens were as follows (Fig. 2):
All previously prescribed antianginal medications were continued preoperatively. The same anesthesiologist administered a balanced, opioid-based (intermediate-dose) general anesthetic that consisted of propofol (1 to 2 mg/kg), fentanyl (8 to 10 µg/kg, titrated from induction to sternotomy), and pancuronium bromide (0.15 mg/kg) for induction of anesthesia. Anesthesia was maintained with a nitrous oxide/oxygen/isoflurane mixture until aortic cannulation, after which nitrous oxide was replaced with air. During and after CPB, anesthesia was maintained with isoflurane (0.51.0 MAC) and a propofol infusion (3 mg · kg-1 · h-1). The propofol infusion was continued into the intensive care unit (ICU) and maintained until the patient was considered ready for tracheal extubation. All patients received an IV infusion of nitroglycerine (0.3 µg · kg-1 · min-1) from induction of anesthesia until 24 h later.
The perfusion system used a membrane oxygenator (Sorin Laboratories, Mirandola, Italy) and roller pump (Cobe Stockert, Stockert Instruments, Rungis, France) and the circuit primed with Hartmanns solution (1.5 L) and mannitol 20% (1 mL/kg) to achieve moderate hemodilution (hematocrit Myocardial preservation was achieved with moderate systemic hypothermia (nasopharyngeal temperature of 32°C to 34°C), cold anterograde hyperkalemic crystalloid (St. Thomass I) cardioplegia solution (except for the blood cardioplegia stage, Regimen C), and topical cooling of the myocardium with ice-slush within the pericardial sac. Cardioplegia was repeated at 30-min intervals or sooner if electrical activity was observed during electrocardiogram (ECG) monitoring. In all cases an internal thoracic artery was used as well as additional saphenous vein conduits. After surgery, dopamine was used as the first-line drug if inotropic support was required to maintain a cardiac index (CI) of >1.8 L · min-1 · m-2 (to a total dose rate of 8 µg · kg-1 · min-1) and then supplemented with epinephrine (0.030.1 µg · kg-1 · min-1). Central venous and pulmonary artery catheters were introduced after induction of anesthesia for monitoring of central venous pressure, pulmonary artery wedge pressure (PAWP), pulmonary artery pressure (PAP), and cardiac output obtained by thermodilution. CI, LV stroke work index (LVSWI), and other hemodynamic indices (calculated using standard formulae) were measured at baseline (after induction of anesthesia), after FDP/placebo infusion before CPB, and 1, 2, 4, 6, 12, and 16 h after reperfusion. Total creatine kinase (CK) and its CK-MB isozyme were measured at baseline (before surgery) and 2, 4, 6, 12, 24, 48, and 72 h after reperfusion. Normal ranges at our institution for total CK are 24195 IU/L for males and 24170 IU/L for females and <24 IU/L for CK-MB for both sexes. Two or three independent physicians blinded to the study intervention interpreted consecutive daily 12-lead ECGs. Holter monitoring was used for the first 72 h postoperatively. Perioperative myocardial infarction (P-MI) was diagnosed using the following criteria: CK-MB activity >50 IU/L for a period more than 12 h, and ECG changes on a standard postoperative 12-lead ECG according to the Minnesota code criteria:
Requirement for cardiovascular support, duration of ventilation, and lengths of ICU and hospital stay were recorded. Cardiovascular support was defined as the requirement for inotropic support (dopamine >3 µg · kg-1 · min-1 or epinephrine) and/or antiarrhythmic therapy (pacing, isoproteranol, or amiodarone). Holter monitors in the first 72- postoperative hours also surveyed for postoperative atrial fibrillation. The incidence of hemodynamically significant (systolic blood pressure [SBP] <90 mm Hg) atrial fibrillation (confirmed by 12-lead ECG) requiring antiarrhythmic therapy (amiodarone) was also compared between groups. Vital signs, laboratory-based hematological and biochemical profiles, and adverse events were recorded for 72 h after reperfusion. Adverse events were coded using the Coding Symbols for Thesaurus of Adverse Reaction Terms dictionary.
Sample size was calculated to detect a 20% difference in mean variable with To evaluate the overall efficacy of FDP, a 2 x 3 factorial analysis was done for all groups (Regimens A, B, D, and E2) that received preischemic IV FDP treatment irrespective of cardioplegic supplement. Groups excluded from these analyses included those on the failed large-dose postreperfusion FDP regimen (Regimen E1) and those that received FDP only via the cardioplegic route (Regimen C). In the 2 x 3 factorial analyses, one factor was treatment group with 2 levels (FDP versus placebo) and the other factor was dose size with 3 levels (125 mg/kg, 250 mg/kg, or 250 mg/kg plus 125 mg/kg 2 and 6 h after reperfusion). Results are presented with three P values (Table 2). These indicate significance or lack of significance for effect of treatment (FDP versus placebo), effect of dose (Regimens A, B, D, and E2), and an interaction between treatment and dose. Should a significant treatment effect exist with no dose or interaction effect, this would indicate a general effect of FDP. However, significant dose and interaction effects would indicate that the effect of treatment might be a function of dose.
Section A reports on the results of individual dosing strategies for FDP in which each cohort is compared to the control patients of that group (1:1 randomization). Results in this section are presented in 3 subsections, reflecting the nature of this study: a dose-ranging safety trial with a design aimed at achieving insufficient, adequate, and excessive dosing. Section B reports on the results in which all dosing groups receiving preischemic IV FDP were combined and compared with all placebo patients from the relevant cohorts in an attempt to analyze for overall drug efficacy. Data are presented as mean ± SD unless stated otherwise.
A. Analysis of Individual Groups
ii. Combined IV and Cardioplegic FDP [Regimen D].
Hemodynamic Indices. CI values were 17% higher (P = 0.042 for absolute values and P = 0.018 for change from baseline values by ANOVA) 1224 h postreperfusion in FDP- compared with placebo-treated patients. LVSWI values remained less than baseline (P < 0.05) after reperfusion in the placebo-treated group throughout the study period. In contrast, LVSWI recovered in the FDP-treated group 6 h (P = 0.001) after reperfusion and remained so (Fig. 3). Improved hemodynamic indices in FDP-treated patients could not be attributed to increased preload because PAWP values after reperfusion tended to be slightly higher in placebo-treated patients, but this difference did not achieve statistical significance.
Systemic vascular resistance remained similar between FDP- and placebo-treated groups. However, differences in PVRI were observed after reperfusion. During administration of anesthesia and before CPB, PVRI was reduced in both groups. Immediately after reperfusion, an increase above baseline was observed in the placebo-treated group but not in the FDP-treated group. This difference was significant 0 h (228.5 ± 26.5 versus 318.7 ± 30.7 dyne · s-1 · cm-5; P = 0.032) and 2 h after reperfusion (297.1 ± 19.3 versus 409.2 ± 27.2 dyne · s-1 · cm-1; P = 0.002). Thereafter, the PVRI values in the placebo-treated group returned to baseline. PVRI values in the FDP-treated group, however, were significantly reduced 6 (263.9 ± 24.0 versus 337.5 ± 28.4 dyne · s-1 · cm-5; P = 0.047), 12 (239.3 ± 41.3 versus 337.5 ± 30.9 dyne · s-1 · cm-5; P = 0.06 [trend]), and 16 (180.3 ± 31.2 versus 311.0 ± 28.9 dyne · s-1 · cm-5; P = 0.006) h after reperfusion compared with the placebo-treated group.
Analysis of the effect of CPB duration (more or less than 90 min) demonstrated an independent effect on PVRI. Subsequent
Ischemic Indices. Serum CK-MB isozyme levels, however, were significantly lower 2 (P = 0.026), 4 (P = 0.017), and 6 h (P = 0.050) after reperfusion in the FDP-treated group (Fig. 4).
No placebo-treated patients and one FDP-treated patient suffered a new Q-wave (transmural) P-MI. This was associated with a surgical complication, requiring pledget sutures to ensure hemostasis from a bleeding coronary artery branch. Five placebo- and 0 FDP-treated patients suffered a new non-Q-wave (subendocardial) P-MI (P = 0.042).
Cardiovascular Support.
Patient Management.
iii. Combined Preischemic and Reperfusion IV FDP (Regimen E).
Regimen E2
B. Analysis of all IV Regimens for Overall Drug Efficacy
Hemodynamic Indices.
Ischemic Indices: CK-MB Release.
C. Overall Tolerability
This clinical dose-ranging safety study investigated the potential use of pretreatment with FDP to prevent the deleterious effects of an expected period of ischemia with subsequent reperfusion in surgical coronary revascularization. The study was conducted in a relatively low-risk patient population scheduled for elective CABG surgery. FDP was well tolerated in all preischemic dosage regimens. However, administration in the postreperfusion period resulted in metabolic acidosis. The desired dose-ranging effects of "under" dosing (Regimens A & B), "adequate" dosing (Regimen D), and "excessive" dosing (Regimen E) were also achieved. Having established the safety and a dose-ranging effect of preischemic FDP administration, we tested the overall efficacy of IV FDP across all treatment regimens. These data demonstrated a dose-dependent myocardial protective treatment effect, which was maintained across all the study groups despite expected "dilution" of treatment effects by the suboptimal dosing regimens. The effects support previous studies reporting beneficial effects of FDP in ischemic myocardium in animals (6,8,16,18,23,27), and after acute myocardial infarction (26) and established heart failure (2729) in humans. It is interesting to note that FDP improved cardiac (LV) function most in those patients with impaired LV function and increased LV filling pressures (2629). Beneficial treatment effects with myocardial protection were best noted in preischemic dosing Regimen D. No added benefit was obtained from additional postischemic dosing (Regimen E). This suggests that Regimen D achieved a ceiling effect. Administration of FDP late in the postreperfusion period, after presumably successful revascularization, did not provide additional benefit. As numerous in vivo and in vitro studies demonstrate, FDP increases high-energy phosphate (ATP) production in several tissues, including ischemic/reperfused myocardium (59), suggesting that membrane-associated ion pumps and channels are better maintained during ischemia and reperfusion. Adequate preischemic dosing was associated with lessened ischemia-reperfusion injury, as judged by accelerated return to baseline of hemodynamic indices (CI, LVSWI), fewer non-Q-wave perioperative myocardial infarctions, and indirect indices such as reduced cardiac enzyme release. In addition, protective effects against ischemia-reperfusion injury of the pulmonary vascular bed may explain the observed reduction in postoperative pulmonary vasoconstriction. Ventricular function, depicted by the relationship between preload (PAWP) and ventricular work (LVSWI), the Frank-Starling mechanism, demonstrated accelerated recovery to preischemic levels in the FDP-treated group, with a resulting reduction in PAWP and accompanying increase in LVSWI (Fig. 3). In contrast, ventricular function failed to recover to baseline level within the first 16 postoperative hours in the placebo-treated group. This decreased inotropic state was most likely consequent to ischemia-reperfusion injury, e.g., myocardial stunning or infarction. Importantly, the rapid hemodynamic recovery associated with FDP pretreatment was not related to an increase in preload and therefore seems consistent with a treatment effect of FDP that is intrinsic to the myocardium. These dose-dependent myocardial protective treatment effects were maintained across all the study groups receiving IV FDP, despite the fact that not all groups had FDP-supplemented cardioplegia. The potential role for IV FDP in providing metabolic support to the "unprotected heart" during beating-heart off-pump coronary artery bypass surgery where obligatory ischemia still occurs therefore seems warranted. Pulmonary vasoconstriction is a known consequence of ischemia-reperfusion injury and often follows CPB. The relationship observed between prolonged duration of CPB and increased PVRI is consistent with this notion. The absence of pulmonary vasoconstriction after IV administered FDP (compared with increased PVRI 02 hours after reperfusion in the placebo-treated group) suggests that FDP may protect the pulmonary vascular bed during CPB. Alleviation of ischemia-reperfusion injury through increased glycolytic ATP generation may, however, not fully explain the late-onset pulmonary vasodilation (reduction in PVRI 616 hours after reperfusion) observed in the FDP-pretreated group or the observed reduction in PAP by FDP in other studies (29,30). We suggest that this temporal component of active pulmonary vasodilation by FDP may involve upregulation of an intracellular pathway. As FDP is hydrophilic, it is understandable that questions arise regarding its ability to access cellular membranes for glycolytic ATP generation or an intracellular effect, as postulated above, to occur. However, cellular accession by FDP but not by fructose, fructose-1-phosphate, or fructose-6-phosphate has been demonstrated by spectrophotometric studies in artificial membrane bilayers (31). This and evidence that FDP may ride an active transporter (32) support the notion that by crossing membranes the diphosphate itself (rather than its catabolites) may induce the observed therapeutic effects. Atrial fibrillation remains one of the most common complications of CABG surgery, and is usually associated with increased duration of hospital stay. The reduction in incidence of atrial fibrillation and durations of intensive care and hospital lengths of stay failed to achieve statistical significance with the effective FDP-dosage regimen (Regimen D). Whether increased glycolytic ATP generation by FDP with subsequent reduction in atrial ischemia-reperfusion injury or improved cation homeostasis, as supported by studies demonstrating restored contractility in myocardial tissue depolarized with potassium chloride (33) and protective effects against cardiac glycoside-induced hyperkalemia (34) will reduce postoperative atrial fibrillation remains unanswered. Although it is not immediately obvious why the incidence of atrial fibrillation increased in the subgroup administered postreperfusion bolus infusions of FDP (Regimen E), the metabolic acidosis that occurred in the postreperfusion dosage regimens may have been a contributing factor. The cause of the metabolic acidosis is not obvious. As reported, lactatemia was not observed and this is consistent with evidence suggesting that acidosis accompanying ischemia follows failure to fuel ionic pumps, as a result of reduced ATP derived from glycolysis rather than from lactic acid dissociation (35), and that intracellular acidosis and lactate levels are dissociated under hypoxic conditions, at least in brain tissue (36). However, the FDP was buffered in a HCl-containing solution before reconstitution, and hepatic metabolic pathways or endogenous acid-base systems may not have functioned optimally in the reperfusion period and thus been unable to attenuate this acid load. Lyophilized FDP that does not require acidic buffering in solution has recently been developed and may refute or confirm these findings in subsequent studies.
Study Limitations and Future Directions
This dose-ranging safety study conducted in a low-risk patient population scheduled for elective coronary revascularization shows promising dose-dependent cardioprotective effects for FDP. Evidence of improved hemodynamic recovery and reduced ischemic injury were observed when FDP was administered in an effective preischemic dosing strategy. These findings suggest that further adequately powered studies investigating the impact of FDP on perioperative outcome after CABG surgery appear justified.
Supported, in part, by Cypros Pharmaceutical Corporation, Carlsbad, California (Protocol FDP-202). Joan Buffini, BS, helped us with GCP compliance and study administration. Fred Hoehler, PhD, gave us patient statistical support. Eva Procopczuk, MD, PhD, made valuable comments on an earlier draft of this manuscript.
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|