A new model for studying ischemia-reperfusion injury in hamster cheek pouch.

The cheek pouch was prepared as a single layer and attached to a two-piece Lucite chamber that was filled with bicarbonate buffer (pH 7.35, equilibrated with 95% N2-5% CO2). Two microcirculatory areas were circumscribed in the cheek pouch by equilateral triangular chambers. Each chamber was made of 90-microns thick Mylar sheet (2 mm wide, 18 mm long). A cover slip was used as the chamber top. Ischemia was induced by applying pressure to the cover slip. The experimental area was reperfused after 1 h of ischemia by releasing the pressure. The other area served as control. One hour of reperfusion after 1 h of ischemia caused a significant increase in the number of leukocytes adhering to postcapillary venules (PCVs) per 100 microns vessel length in the ischemic area relative to the values in the control area (7.8 +/- 2.5 vs. 3.7 +/- 1.3, respectively, for PCVs 10-19.9 microns diam; and 10.9 +/- 2.8 vs. 6.2 +/- 1.8 for PCVs 20-29.9 microns diam; P less than 0.01 for both comparisons). The results demonstrate the adequacy of the model to investigate leukocyte adhesion to endothelium in ischemia-reperfusion. Because blood flow is maintained in most of the pouch, our model should also be useful for identifying possible interactions between ischemic and nonischemic areas in the microcirculation.