International journal of molecular medicine
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The nuclear factor (NF)-kappaB/inhibitory (I)kappaBalpha pathway is one of the most important intracellular signal transduction pathways during inflammation which is induced by a variety of major early response cytokines. Recent studies suggest that volatile anesthetics interfere with inflammatory cytokine production through inhibition of intracellular signal transduction pathways. We, therefore, aimed to investigate the effects of the volatile anesthetics sevoflurane and isoflurane on NF-kappaB/IkappaBalpha-dependent intracellular signal transduction in human monocytic THP-1 cells induced by tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and production of interleukin-8 (IL-8) and downstream heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1). ⋯ We demonstrated inhibition of TNF-alpha-induced gene expression and release of IL-8 and HO-1 in human monocytic THP-1 cells exposed to both volatile anesthetics. This was associated with an upregulated intracellular IkappaBalpha content followed by decreased NF-kappaB translocation. This was more sustained during exposure to sevoflurane and may provide an additional intracellular mechanism for the anti-inflammatory effects associated with sevoflurane administration.