Previous studies have demonstrated that transient ischemia inhibits the release of norepinephrine (NE) following a sustained ischemia. However, the mechanism underlying this inhibition is unknown. Therefore, this study was designed to investigate whether bradykinin (BK) may be involved in the inhibition of NE release following ischemic preconditioning. The effects of transient ischemia, exogenous BK, and kinin receptor blockers on NE release after a prolonged ischemia were tested in the isolated rat heart preparation. Three cycles of 5-min ischemia and reperfusion resulted in the reduction of NE release from 115.3 +/- 14.5 to 51.6 +/- 9.3 pmol.g-1 (p < 0.05) after 30 min of subtotal global ischemia. This effect was not prevented by the administration of either Lys-[Leu8]-des-Arg9-BK (1 mumol.L-1), a B1 antagonist, or HOE-140 (1 mumol.L-1), a B2 antagonist. Three cycles of 5-min BK or des-Arg9-BK infusion also resulted in a dose-dependent inhibition of NE release after 30 min of ischemia. The inhibitory effects of BK (1 mumol.L-1) or des-Arg9-BK (0.5 mumol.L-1) were blocked by Lys-[Leu8]-des-Arg9-BK (1 mumol.L-1), but not by HOE-140 (1 mumol.L-1). The results show that transient ischemia and BK protect sympathetic nerve endings in the isolated rat heart. The inhibition of NE release by pretreatment with BK is mediated by the activation of B1 receptors, whereas preconditioning provided by transient ischemia may be mediated by a different, yet unknown, mechanism in the rat heart.