Sevoflurane Improves Ventricular Conduction by Exosomes Derived from Rat Cardiac Fibroblasts After Hypothermic Global Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury

PURPOSE: This study investigated the effect of exosomes derived from sevoflurane-treated cardiac fibroblasts (Sev-CFs-Exo) on reperfusion arrhythmias (RA), ventricular conduction, and myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury (MIRI). METHODS: Primary cardiac fibroblasts (CFs) were isolated from the hearts of neonatal rats and identified by morphology and immunofluorescence. Exosomes were isolated from CFs at passages 2–3 after they had been treated with 2.5% sevoflurane for an hour and cultivated for 24–48 hours. The control group was CFs that did not receive any treatment. The hypothermic global ischemia-reperfusion injury model was established using the Langendorff perfusion technique following injection with exosomes through the caudal vein. Multi-electrode array (MEA) mapping was used to investigate the changes in RA and ventricular conduction in isolated hearts. Western blots and immunofluorescence were used to examine the relative expression and location of connexin 43 (Cx43). In addition, the MIRI was evaluated with triphenyl tetrazolium chloride and Hematoxylin-Eosin staining. RESULTS: The primary CFs had a variety of morphologies, no spontaneous pulsation, and were vimentin-positive, which confirmed their successful isolation. Sev-CFs-Exo increased the heart rate (HR) at reperfusion for 15 minutes (T(2)) and 30 minutes (T(3)) and lowered the score and duration of RA and the time for restoration of heartbeat in reperfusion. Meanwhile, Sev-CFs-Exo increased conduction velocity (CV), decreased absolute inhomogeneity (P(5-95)) and inhomogeneity index (P(5-95)/P(50)) at T(2) and T(3), as well as promoted the recovery of HR, CV, P(5-95) and P(5-95)/P(50) after hypothermic global ischemia-reperfusion injury. Furthermore, Sev-CFs-Exo raised expression and reduced lateralization of Cx43, and improved myocardial infarct sizes and cellular necrosis. However, while cardiac fibroblast-derived exosomes (CFs-Exo) showed similar cardioprotective effects, the outcomes were not as significant. CONCLUSION: Sevoflurane reduces the risk of RA and improves ventricular conduction and MIRI by CFs-Exo, and this may be driven by the expression and location of Cx43.