Sevoflurane confers additional cardioprotection after ischemic late preconditioning in rabbits

Sevoflurane exerts cardioprotective effects that mimic the early ischemic preconditioning phenomenon (EPC) by activating adenosine triphosphate-sensitive potassium (KATP) channels. Ischemic late preconditioning (LPC) is an important cardioprotective mechanism in patients with coronary artery disease. The authors investigated whether the combination of LPC and sevoflurane-induced preconditioning results in enhanced cardioprotection and whether opening of KATP channels plays a role in this new setting.

Seventy-three rabbits were instrumented with a coronary artery occluder. After recovery for 10 days, they were subjected to 30 min of coronary artery occlusion and 120 min of reperfusion (I/R). Controls (n = 14) were not preconditioned. LPC was induced in conscious animals by a 5-min period of coronary artery occlusion 24 h before I/R (LPC, n = 15). Additional EPC was induced by a 5-min period of myocardial ischemia 10 min before I/R (LPC+EPC, n = 9). Animals of the sevoflurane (SEVO) groups inhaled 1 minimum alveolar concentration of sevoflurane for 5 min at 10 min before I/R with (LPC+SEVO, n = 10) or without (SEVO, n = 15) additional LPC. The KATP channel blocker 5-hydroxydecanoate (5-HD, 5 mg/kg) was given intravenously 10 min before sevoflurane administration (LPC+SEVO+5-HD, n = 10).

Infarct size of the area at risk (triphenyltetrazolium staining) was reduced from 45 +/- 16% (mean+/-SD, control) to 27 +/- 11% by LPC (P < 0.001) and to 27 +/- 17% by sevoflurane (P = 0.001). Additional sevoflurane administration after LPC led to a further infarct size reduction to 14 +/- 8% (LPC+SEVO, P = 0.003 vs. LPC; P = 0.032 vs. SEVO), similar to the combination of LPC and EPC (12 +/- 8%; P = 0.55 vs. LPC+SEVO). Cardioprotection induced by LPC+SEVO was abolished by 5-HD (LPC+SEVO+5-HD, 41 +/- 19%, P = 0.001 vs. LPC+SEVO).

Sevoflurane administration confers additional cardioprotection after LPC by opening of KATP channels.