Fig. 1

Experimental setting: rats were assigned to four groups: 1. intestinal I/R + RIPC (n = 10); 2. intestinal I/R (n = 10); 3. sham + RIPC (n = 5); 4. sham (n = 5). After induction of anesthesia and midline laparotomy, the superior mesenteric artery was clamped (b), followed by 30 min of intestinal ischemia (c) and 60 min of reperfusion (d). RIPC-treated rats received 3 × 5 min of bilateral hindlimb I/R (a) prior to surgery, while the sham-surgery groups received laparotomy without arterial clamping. At the end of the reperfusion period, serum and tissue samples were obtained and prepared for assessment of histomorphological injury, Caspase-3/7 activity, protein profiling, oxidative stress (malondialdehyde, hydrogen peroxide), western blotting and MMP activity (gelatin zymography)