Effect of sevoflurane preconditioning on the expression of Toll-like receptor 4 during myocardial ischemia reperfusion in rats

Abstract

Objective To investigate the effect of sevoflurane preconditioning on the expression of Toll-like receptor 4(TLR4) during myocardial ischemia reperfusion(IR) in rats.Methods Thirty male SD rats weighing 250-300 g were randomly divided into 3 groups (n=10 each):sham operation group (S group) , IR group and sevoflurane preconditioning group(SP group).Myocardial ischemia was produced by temporary ligation of anterior descending branch of left coronary artery for 30 min followed by 2 h reperfusion. In SP group, the animals inhaled 2.5% sevoflurane for 30 min followed by 15 min washout before ischemia. The rats were sacrificed at 2 h of reperfusion, hearts removed and myocardial tissues obtained for microscopic examination.The expression of TLR4, NF-κB and TNF-α was detected using Western blot. Results The expression of TLR4, NF-κB and TNF-α was significantly up-regulated in IR and SP groups compared with group S (P＜0.05).The expression of TLR4, NF-κB and TNF-α was significantly down-regulated in group SP compared with group IR (P＜0.05).The myocardial injury was attenuated in group SP.Conclusion Sevoflurane preconditioning can attenuate myocardial IR injury by inhibiting the up-regulation of TLR4 expression and reducing the inflammatory response. Key words: Ischemic preconditioning; Myocardial reperfusion injury; Toll-like receptor 4; Sevoflurane