Volatile
anesthetic preconditioning has been shown to be a potent way to provide myocardium protection against
ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury; however, this cardioprotection is lost in senescent animal models and elderly patients. NFkB-regulated genes have been linked to myocardial I/R injury and
anesthetic preconditioning. Here, we investigated NFkB activation related to
anesthetic preconditioning in aging rat myocardium. Isolated, Langendorff perfused rat hearts from Fischer 344 male rats, 24 months old, were randomly assigned to one of the three groups. The hearts of the control group were perfused with physiologic
solution without any intervention. The hearts in the I/R group were subjected to 25 minutes
ischemia and followed by 60 minutes reperfusion. The hearts in the treatment group were subjected to 10 minutes 2.5%
sevoflurane, followed by 20 minutes washout and by 25 minutes
ischemia and 60 minutes of reperfusion, respectively. Left ventricular developed pressure (LVDP) and left ventricular end-diastolic pressure (LVEDP) were measured. Western blot analysis was used to measure inhibitor of kB (IkB) and anti-apoptotic genes: A1, ILP, c-IAP-2, Bcl-2,
caspase 8 and
caspase 9.
Ischemia and reperfusion significantly decreased LVDP and increased LVEDP in aged rat hearts.
Anesthetic preconditioning with
sevoflurane did not change the effects I/R on LVDP and LVEDP, despite the fact that
after treatment with
anesthetic preconditioning, the levels of IκB, A1, ILP,
caspase 8 and
caspase 9 were significantly different compared to those of the control hearts. In conclusion,
anesthetic preconditioning with
sevoflurane does not improve myocardial systolic and diastolic functions. Our results suggest that the activation of NFkB regulated genes is different in the senescent myocardium and could account for loss of cardioprotection with aging.