Abstract: Objective To investigate the delayed protective of sevoflurane preconditioning (SWOP) against myocardium ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury and the mechanism of NF-кB during SWOP. Methods Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned to receive 33% oxygen (I/R group) with or without 2.5% sevoflurane for 2 h (SWOP group). The NF-κB inhibitor parthenolide (500 μg/kg) was administered intraperitoneally before sevoflurane exposure (PTN+SWOP group). Infarct size was measured by TTC staining. The related proteins of NF-κB were determined with Western blot. Results Sevoflurane significantly reduced infarct size, and this effect was blocked by PTN. Sevoflurane up-regulated the expression of NF-кB (p65, p50) proteins compared with CON group before ischemia. The expression of NF-кB (p65, p50) proteins were up-regulated in I/R and SWOP group compared with CON group after reperfusion, but the they were lower in SWOP group. Conclusion Preconditioning with sevoflurane reduces myocardial infarct size, produces SWOP. NF-κB may play an important role in the mechanism of SWOP against myocardium I/R injury.

Key words: nuclear factor-kappa B, sevoflurane, preconditioning, myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury