Protective Effects Of Desflurane-induced Preconditioning On Liver Ischemic Reperfusion Injury In Rats

ObjectiveRecent investigations show that volatile anesthetics can induce pharmacological preconditioning. The experimental and clinical findings documenting the phenomenon of volatile anesthetic preconditioning against ischemic injury of liver are evaluated. A rapidly growing body of evidence indicates that volatile anesthetics protect liver against reversible and irreversible ischemic injury. Desflurane has been reported to be the most potent volatile anesthetic agent. The present study is aimed to investigate the protective effects of pretreatment with desflurane on liver ischemic reperfusion injury in rats.MethodsA total of 72 healthy adult Wistar rats, weighing between 200g to 220g, were randomly divided into three groups: normal control group (N, n=8); ischemia-reperfusion group (IR, n=32) and desflurane-pretreated group (Des, n=32). To induce hepatic warm ischemia in a rat model, both portal vein and hepatic artery entering the left, right and median lobes were occluded. Rats suffered from ischemia for 90 min, and followed by reperfusion for different time. Next, the animals were scarificed at In, 3h, 6h and 24h after reperfusion. Serum levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) were determined. The histopathologic changes in the liver were also observed. The activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD), content of gluramylcysteinyl glylcysteinyl glycine (GSH), and malondialdehyde (MDA) were measured. Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) level, activity of Ca2+-ATPase and Ca2+concentration of liver tissue were also measured.ResultsSerum ALT and AST concerntration was markedly increased after liver ischemia-reperfusion. It was found that a pretreament with inhaltion of 6% desflurane for 30min followed by l0min washout could decrease the leakages of liver enzymes. Meanwhile, the histopathologic hepatic alterations were significantly lessened. The activity of SOD and the content of GSH decreased, but the content of MDA increased obviously in group IR afterliver ischemia-reperfusion. After pretreatment with desflurane, the changes of SOD, GSH and MDA in group Des were significantly different from those in group IR at each time point (P<0.05). ATP level and viability of Ca2+-ATPase were significantly higher in group Des than in group IR (P<0.05). But the Ca2*concentration was lower in group Des than in group IR (PO.05).Conclusions(1) Preconditioning with desflurane can attenuate liver from ischemia reperfusion injury in rats to some extent.(2) Preconditioning with desflurane can protect liver from ischemia reperfusion injury through the inhibition of formation and release of oxygen free radicals.(3) Preconditioning with desflurane can provide relatively sufficient ATP, maintain better Ca2+-ATPase viability and prevent Ca2+ concentration overloading. This may be an important mechanism for desflurane to ameliorate ischemia-reperfusion injury to the rats' livers.