Ischemic heart disease in diabetic patients might be linked to the accumulation of advanced-glycation end products (AGEs). In ischemic rat hearts, expression of receptor for AGEs and its ligands is significantly enhanced and involved in cardiac ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury even in the absence of diabetes. It has recently been reported that diabetic human myocardium cannot be protected by preconditioning. In this context, our hypothesis was that beta1-adrenergic preconditioning might be altered in the presence of AGEs. Using an isolated non-working rat heart model, this study investigated the effect of AGEs on cardioprotection induced by transient beta1-adrenoceptor (beta1-AR) stimulation with xamoterol (Xa). After 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) pre-treatment and a 20-min stabilization period, hearts were perfused at constant pressure for 20 min, then subjected to 40 min of global ischemia and 30 min of reperfusion (I/R, Ctrl); and exposed to 0.01 microm Xa for 5 min framed with or without 15.2 microm albumin (Alb) or glycated albumin (Gly Alb). The main endpoints were the mean coronary flow (MCF), the left ventricular end-diastolic pressure (LVEDP), rate-pressure product (RPP) and creatine kinase (CK) release and necrosis area. XA induced an increase in the MCF after I/R (t = 85 min), a protective effect on the LVEDP, an improvement in RPP, a decrease of CK release during reperfusion and a reduction of necrotic area. The beneficial effects induced by Xa during reperfusion were suppressed by the administration of Gly Alb during Xa infusion, whereas Alb did not hamper Xa-induced protection. These results suggest that AGEs suppress the cardioprotection resulting from the activation of beta1-ARs and thus might contribute to cardiovascular damages seen in diabetic patients.