Effects of propofol on the inflammatory response to myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury in rats

Objective To investigate the effects of propofol pretreatment on the inflammatory response induced by myocardial ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) .Methods Forty-eight healthy male SD rats weighing 200-250 g were randomly divided into 4 groups ( n = 12 each): group S sham operation; group I/R; group L low-dose propofol + I/R and group H high-dose propofol + I/R. In group I/R, L and H myocardial I/R was produced by occlusion of left anterior descending artery (LAD) for 30 min followed by 120 min reperfusion. In group L and H propofol 5 and 10 mg·kg-1 was givenⅣ10 min before occlusion of LAD, followed by propofol infusion at 5 or 10 mg·kg-1·h-1 until the animals were killed at 120 min of reperfusion. Blood samples were taken at 30 min (T1) and 120 min (T2) of reperfusion for determination of plasma TNF-αand IL-10 by ELISA. The size of myocardial infarct was determined by TTC and the myocardial histopathological changes were determined by electron microscopy.Results The plasma TNF-αand IL-10 levels at T1 and T2 were significant higher in group I/R, L and H than in group S (P 0.05) . The plasma TNF-αlevel was significantly lower while the plasma IL-10 level was significantly higher in group L and H than in group I/R. The size of myocardial infarct was significantly smaller in group L and H than in group I/R. The myocardial histopathological changes were mild in group L as compared with group I/R, while in group H the microscopic structure of myocardium was basically normal. The protective effects of propofol was dose-dependent.Conclusion Propofol pretreatment can protect the myocardium against ischemia-reperfusion injury through inhibition of I/R induced inflammatory response.