Emulsified Isoflurane Preconditioning Protects Isolated Rat Kupffer Cells against Hypoxia/Reoxygenation-Induced Injury

OBJECTIVE To investigate the protective effect of emulsified isoflurane (EI) preconditioning on isolated rat Kupffer cells (KCs) subjected to hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R)-induced injury. MATERIALS AND METHODS KCs were isolated by collagenase digestion and purified by Percoll density gradient centrifugation. Primary cultured KCs were divided into five groups: control, H/R plus 0.1% lipid preconditioning, and H/R plus 0.05%, 0.1% or 0.2% emulsified isoflurane preconditioning groups. H/R was induced by 4 h of hypoxia followed by 6 h of reoxygenation. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) production in the KCs and the concentration of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) in the KC culture media were measured, and the apoptosis of KCs was assayed concomitantly. RESULTS ROS and TNF-α production were markedly induced in the H/R + lipid group, and lower in the 0.2% and 0.1% EI groups (P<0.05). The apoptotic rate in the H/R + lipid group was significantly higher than that in the 0.2% and 0.1% EI groups (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS Emulsified isoflurane protects isolated rat KCs against H/R induced injury by decreasing the production of ROS and TNF-α and attenuating apoptosis in KCs.