Effect of sufentanil postconditioning on cardiomyocyte apoptosis during myocardial ischemia-reperfusion in rats

Objective To investigate the effect of sufentanil postconditioning on cardiomyocyte apoptosis during myocardial ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) in rats.Methods Thirty-six male Sprague-Dawley rats weighing 250-280 g were randomly divided into 3 groups ( n =12 each):sham operation group (group S),I/R group and sufentanil postconditioning group (group SP).Myocardial I/R was induced by occlusion of the left coronary artery for 30 min followed by 120 min reperfusion.Sufentanil 3.0μg/kg was injected iv at the beginning of reperfusion in group SP.HR and MAP were recorded during I/R.The rats were sacrificed at 120 min of reperfusion and their hearts were removed for determination of infarct size,number of apoptotic cardiomyocytes,and the expression of Bax mRNA and Bcl-2 mRNA,and apoptotic index was caculated.Results There was no significant difference in HR among the 3 groups ( P ＞ 0.05 ).Compared with group S,MAP and Bcl-2 mRNA expression were significantly decreased,apoptotic index and Bax mRNA expression increased in group I/R,and apoptotic index,and the expression of Bax mRNA and Bcl-2 mRNA were increased in group SP (P ＜ 0.05).Compared with group I/R,the infarct size,apoptotic index and Bax mRNA expression were decreased,and Bcl-2 mRNA expression was increased in group SP (P ＜ 0.05).Conclusion Sufentanil postconditioning can attenuate myocardial I/R injury in rats by up-regulating Bcl-2 expression,down-regulating Bax expression and inhibitting cardiomyocyte apoptosis. Key words: Sufentanil; Myocardial reperfusion injury; Apoptosis; Postconditioning