Remote ischemic preconditioning of spleen decreases hepatic ischemia reperfusion injury in rats

Objective To investigate the effect and mechanism of remote ischemic preconditioning on hepatic ischemia-reperfusion injury.Methods Thirty six SD rats were divided into three group randomly:Sham-operated group (Sham group),ischemia-reperfusion group (IR group:produced by total inflow occlusion for 15 min),and remote ischemic preconditioning group [remote ischemic preconditioning (RIPC) group:induced with 15 min ischemia of spleen before hepatic ischemia].Serum aminotransferases [alanine aminotransferase (ALT),aspartate aminotransferase (AST)] and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α,P-selectin in liver were measured after reperfusion for 2 h.Results Compared with the Sham group,the level of ALT,AST and the pathological injury scores were significantly increased in the IR [(466.75 ± 89.45),(782.25 ±87.71) U/L and RIPC (231.87 ±50.80),(326.75 ± 19.12) U/L] groups.TNF-α and p-selectin expression were high when IR only as well.These variables were significant decreased in RIPC group.Conclusion Remote ischemic preconditioning of spleen decreases the reperfusion injury during hepatic ischemia which may be caused by the decrease of pro-inflammatory and activity of neutophils. Key words: Remote ischemic preconditioning;  Ischemia-reperfusion injury ;  Liver;  Spleen