Abstract: Objective To observe the effects of preconditioning with different concentrations of sevoflurane on cariomyocyte
apoptosis and myocardial inflammation in rats with sepsis and explore the possible mechanism of sevoflurane for myocardial
protection. Methods Forty adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into 4 groups (n=10), namely the control
group, LPS group, low-concentration sevoflurane group and high-concentration sevoflurane group. Following sevoflurane
pretreatment for 30 min and a washout period for 10 min, all the rats received intraperitoneal injection of LPS or normal saline
(NS) and were sacrificed 12 h later to observe the myocardial histopathology. Apoptosis of the ardiomyocytes was detected
with TUNEL assay, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to detect serum cTnI level and myocardial TNF-α
level. Results Compared with the control group, the rats in the other 3 groups showed significantly increased serum cTnI
level, myocardial TNF-α content, and apoptotic index of the cardiomyocytes (P<0.05). Compared with those in LPS group,
serum cTnI level, myocardial TNF-α content, and apoptotic index of the cardiomyocytes were significantly decreased in the
two sevoflurane preconditioning groups (P<0.05), and the effect was more obvious with a high dose of sevoflurane (P<0.05).
Conclusion Sevoflurane preconditioning can concentration-dependently reduce LPS-induced myocardial injury in rats
possibly by decreasing cardiomyocyte apoptosis and alleviating myocardial inflammations.