Objective To investigate the protective effect of ischemic preconditioning (IP) on ischemicreperfusion injury of rat liver graft. MethodsMale Sprague Dawley rats were used as donors and recipients of orthotopic liver transplantation,the period of cold preservation and anhepatic phase were 100 min and 25 min respectively.Sixtyfour rats were randomly divided into 2 groups (n=32),control group: donor livers were flushed through the portal veins with physiological saline solution containing heparin only before harvested; IP group: before donor livers were harvested,the portal veins and hepatic arteries of them were interrupted for 10 min,and reflow was initiated for another 10 min,then did as control group.One half of each group were used to investigate 1 week survival rate of recipients,and another half of each group were used to take sample of blood and hepatic tissue after 2 hours of reperfusion of liver graft. ResultsOne week survival rate,amount of bile,serum NO and activity of antioxidase were higher in IP group than those in control group(P＜0.05),meanwhile,serum ALT,AST,LDH,TNF and superoxide in hepatic tissue were lower in IP group than those in control group (P＜0.05),and histological findings in IP group showed less injury than those in control group. Conclusion IP could increase production of serum NO,reduce the level of serum TNF and protect rat liver graft from ischemicreperfusion injury.