Effects of sevoflurane on the liver injury following ischemia-reperfusion of hind limbs in rats

Objective To investigate the effects of sevoflurane on liver injury induced by ischemia-reperfusion of hind limbs.Methods Twenty-four healthy male SD rats weighing 200-250 g were randomly assigned into 3 groups(n = 8 each):sham operation group(group Sham),ischemia-reperfusion group(group IR) and sevoflurane group(group S).In group Sham,the bilateral femoral artery and vein were exposed but not occluded.In group IR,the bilateral femoral artery and vein were occluded for 4 h with the atraumatic microclips and then released for 6 h reperfusion.In group S,sevoflurane was inhaled for 6 h at the end-tidal concentration of 2.5% before reperfusion.In group Sham and IR the rats were inhaled oxygen instead of sevoflurane.All rats were sacrificed at 6 h of reperfusion and the blood samples were collected from the inferior vena cava to measure the concentration of serum alanine aminotransferase(ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase(AST).The liver tissues were obtained for determination of MDA content,SOD activity,TNF-α content,IL-6 content and microscopic examination.Results Compared with group sham,the content of ALT,AST,TNF-α,IL-6 and MDA significantly increased,SOD content significantly decreased(P 0.01),and pathological injury was severer in group IR and group S.Compared with group IR,the content of ALT,AST,TNF-α,IL-6 and MDA significantly decreased,SOD content significantly increased(P 0.05),and pathological injury was milder in group S.Conclusion Sevoflurane can reduce the liver injury induced by ischemia-reperfusion of hind limbs,and the mechanism may be connected with the reduce oxygen radicals and the inhibition of inflammatory reaction.