The myocardial ischemia and reperfusion injury is caused by the re-introduction of coronary circulation in ischemic myocardial tissues. A number of experiments demonstrate that immunological response such as adherence of neutrophils to endothelial cells play a critical role in reperfusion injury. In this paper, the effect of global ischemia and reperfusion on the expression of cytokine genes by myocardial tissues as well as cell adhesion molecules by neutrophils were studied by using Langendorff model. Cardiac dysfunction and immunological response in 25 min global ischemia at 37.5 degrees C followed by 60 min reperfusion were studied in isolated rat heart perfused with blood supplied from support rat (Langendorff model). Cardiac functions were measured with a left intraventricular balloon. The mean post-experimental reduction of the left ventricular end-systolic pressure were 87.5 +/- 1.6% of pre-experimental level in the control perfusion group and 55.5 +/- 5.8% in the reperfusion group. Immunofluorescence flow cytometry showed that ischemia and reperfusion injury did not affect the expression of adhesion molecules on neutrophils which were isolated from perfused blood samples. Cytokine gene expression was analyzed by direct analysis of mRNA obtained from the blood-perfused, isolated rat heart. The level of expression of the cytokine genes was assessed using semiquantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (semiquantitative RT-PCR). IL-6, IL-8, IFN-gamma, TNF-alpha were expressed in normal heart tissue at low level and were upregulated following ischemia and reperfusion. IL-1 beta, MCP-1 and IL-1 receptor antagonist were not expressed at detectable level in normal heart but were induced following global ischemia. IL-1 alpha was not expressed at detectable level in normal heart but was induced following reperfusion of the ischemic heart. Histological examination of myocardial tissue from the reperfusion group revealed no evidence of myocardial necrosis. Only a mild interstitial edema as well as weak focal hemorrhage was detected after reperfusion of ischemic hearts. These results suggest that there is a process which causes early stage of post-ischemic myocardial dysfunction without involving myocardial necrosis nor infiltration of inflammatory cells.