Caffeinated coffee blunts the myocardial protective effects of statins against ischemia-reperfusion injury in the rat

Purpose: We asked whether caffeinated coffee (CC) blunts the infarct size (IS)-limiting effects of atorvastatin (ATV). Background: Adenosine receptor activation is essential for mediating the IS-limiting effects of statins. Caffeine is a nonspecific adenosine receptor blocker, and thus drinking CC may block the myocardial protective effects of statins. Methods: Rat received 3-day ATV (10 mg/kg/day) or water by oral gavage once daily. Drinking water was replaced by water + sugar (7.5 g/100 ml), CC with sugar, or decaffeinated coffee (DC) with sugar. On the 4th day, rats were anesthetized and underwent 30 min of coronary artery occlusion and 4 h reperfusion. Area at risk was assessed by blue dye and infarct size by TTC. Results: Body weight and area at risk was comparable among groups. IS was 25.1±3.9% of the area at risk in the control group. In rats not receiving ATV, CC (25.5±3.1%) and DC (34.0±2.8%) did not affect IS. IS was significantly reduced by ATV in the water + sugar (11.7±0.7%, p=0.015) and DC (11.5±1.0%; p<0.001) groups, but not in the CC group (32.3±3.0%; p=0.719). ATV increased myocardial levels of Ser-473 phosphorylated Akt in the water + sugar and DC groups, but not in the CC group. Conclusions: CC, but not DC, abrogated the IS-limiting effects of ATV by blocking the adenosine receptors and preventing the phosphorylation of Akt. CC did not affect IS in rats not receiving ATV.