Propofol prevents cerebral ischemia-triggered autophagy activation and cell death in the rat hippocampus through the NF-κB/p53 signaling pathway

Highlights • Propofol prevents autophagy activation induced by cerebral ischemia–reperfusion insult. • Propofol prevents pyramidal neurons death induced by cerebral ischemia–reperfusion insult. • Propofol reduces the upregulation of p53 induced by cerebral ischemia–reperfusion insult. • Propofol inhibits autophagy and apoptosis activation through NF-κB/p53 signaling pathway.