Carbon monoxide inhalation protects against limb ischemia/reperfusion injury / 中国应用生理学杂志

ABSTRACT

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the protective effect of carbon monoxide(CO) inhalation in the limb ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury of rats.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Forty-four Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into three groups S, I/R and RC groups. I/R injury model was made by the occlusion of the femoral artery for four hours and the reperfusion for forty-eight hours. RC group was exposed to medical air mixed CO (the volume fraction of CO 0.05%) during limb reperfusion in rats. The other two groups were exposed to the routine air. Gross morphology of the ischemic limb, wet-to-dry weight ratio (W/D), and skeletal muscle histopathology were observed. The apoptosis index and expression levels of Bax and Bcl-2 in the muscle were assessed with Flow Cytometry. The activities of serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and creatine kinase (CK) were tested by Automatic Biochemical Analyzer.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Compared to I/R group, W/D, serum LDH and CK activities, the apoptosis index and Bax expression level in the muscle were all significantly decreased, the Bcl-2 expression level was significantly increased, gross morphology of the ischemic limb and muscle histopathology were obviously improved in RC group.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Inhaling exogenous CO can attenuate limb I/R injury.</p>