Identification of anesthetic-induced expression changes using DNA microarray

The present study aimed to identify changes in atrial gene expression induced by sevoflurane and propofol using DNA microarray. The expression profiles of GSE4386 in atrial samples, obtained from patients who had received either the anesthetic gas sevoflurane or the intravenous anesthetic propofol prior to and following off-pump coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery, were downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus database. The differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the sevoflurane and the propofol groups were then identified and compared. Subsequently, a functional enrichment analysis was performed for the DEGs. The interactive functional modules for common, sevoflurane-specific and propofol-specific DEGs were then constructed for analysis of the biological processes. The percentages of common DEGs were 31.3 (275/879) and 94.8% (275/290) in the sevoflurane group and propofol groups, respectively. The functional categories for the common, sevoflurane-specific and propofol-specific DEGs were similar. Overall, two, one, and one functional modules were identified for the common DEGs, propofol specific DEGs and sevoflurane specific DEGs, respectively. DEGs in the modules were involved in cellular processes, including the 'regulation of transcription' and 'regulation of cellular process', which were similar to the functional annotations for the DEGs. Therefore, sevoflurane and propofol may synergistically reduce myocardial reperfusion injury in patients undergoing off-pump CABG surgery.