Ex vivo ethanol preconditioning is lost in hearts carrying ALDH2*2 variant. (A) Experimental protocols used for ischaemia-reperfusion injury, ethanol preconditioning and Alda-1 treatment in ex vivo hearts. Briefly, after 10 min of pre-equilibration, hearts were exposed to 35 min global ischaemia followed by 60 min of reperfusion. Ethanol (EtOH, 50 mM, grey) was applied for a period of 15 min, followed by 5 min washout, prior to ischaemia; Alda-1 (20 µM, pink) was applied for 10 min prior to ischaemia and for the first 10 min of reperfusion. Cardiac ALDH2 catalytic activity (B), infarct size (C, representative images and quantification) and LDH release (D) in WT and ALDH2*2 (2*2) hearts exposed to protocols described in panel (A). Data are expressed as mean ± S.E.M. Individual data are presented as open circles (n = 5 per condition). *P < 0.05 vs. WT; #P < 0.05 vs. WT and 2*2; & P < 0.05 vs. 2*2 EtOH.