EPO treatment suppressed the levels of cytokines in the serum following myocardial IRI. An ELISA was used to assess the expression levels of inflammatory cytokines in the serum. The expression levels of (A) TNF-α, (B) IL-6 and (C) IL-1β were selectively analyzed following IRI. ***P<0.001, IRI-SAL vs. Sham; ###P<0.001 and ##P<0.01, IRI-SAL vs. IRI-EPO. Six rats were included in each group. EPO, erythropoietin; IRI, ischemia-reperfusion injury; TNF, tumor necrosis factor; IL, interleukin.