The critical role of maintaining ATP levels in the survival of the heart during cold storage has long been recognized. Even if glycolysis is enhanced, the supply of adenine nucleotides could limit energy production. In addition to conversion of ATP to ADP and AMP, the total adenine nucleotide pool can be depleted under ischemic conditions due to the further degradation to adenosine, inosine, and hypoxanthine, all of which can penetrate the plasma membrane and be lost to cardiac myocytes. One strategy for overcoming this problem is to provide the precursors for de novo adenine nucleotide synthesis, adenine and ribose. In various studies, these two compounds have been shown to be beneficial for the heart, either alone or in combination. However, these experiments have focused on recovery of function and of ATP during reperfusion, rather than preservation during a period of cold storage. We tested whether adenine and ribose, when present during hypothermic incubation of cardiac myocytes,Ginsenoside-Rg2 could reduce their death rates. Neither adenine nor ribose showed significant effects when added individually. Moreover, the combination of the two also was not beneficial. While it is possible that the treatments would aid in the resynthesis of adenine nucleotides following return to normoxia and normothermia, it appeared that any synthesis of adenine nucleotides was insufficient to improve survival while the cells remained under ischemic, hypothermic conditions. Recent studies have often focused on diverse pathways that are altered in response to FBP, such as inflammation and apoptosis. However, the underlying connection between FBP and such effects are unclear. Our results suggest two linked mechanisms for FBP effects: calcium and energy. If FBP acts to chelate calcium, it will spare ATP that would otherwise be used in calcium pumping. Alternatively, If FBP is used to provide glycolytic ATP, the increased cellular energy can help control intracellular Ca2+ levels. Together, effects of FBP on ATP and Ca2+ levels will influence many regulatory pathways,Ginsenoside-Rb3 and these pathways deserve further exploration. Also, in the course of our studies we observed that albumin can contribute significant amounts of calcium to cell culture media, and that different lots of the same commercial albumin product appear to differ considerably in their calcium content. This may be important to researchers employing albumin in situations where calcium concentration is critical. BDM also has strong protective effects in our experimental system. Thus, FBP and BDM may be useful in hypothermic preservation of hearts for transplantation. Because calcium levels are normally well controlled in vivo, especially in clinical situations, calcium chelation might be less relevant compared to other beneficial effects of these two agents. However, during ex vivo preservation experiments, this could be a major factor in cardiomyocyte survival. Pyruvate, adenine, and ribose had little or no beneficial effects during the ischemic, hypothermic incubation. However, it remains possible that these compounds could be protective upon return to physiological temperature and oxygen levels. With an estimated 120–180 million chronically infected individuals, HCV is a leading cause of chronic hepatitis, liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma worldwide. Antiviral therapy has improved considerably with the introduction of pegylated interferon-a and ribavirin as well as, more recently, the first generation of directly acting antivirals. However, many patients still do not respond to or cannot tolerate antiviral therapy. In addition, HCV continues to be transmitted in certain areas of the world. Therefore, the development of preventive and therapeutic vaccines against hepatitis C is of major public health importance. Innate and adaptive immune responses to HCV have been studied in great detail.