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Effects of sevoflurane on learning, memory, and expression of p ERK 1/2 in hippocampus in neonatal rats
Author(s) -
YU X.,
LIU Y.,
BO S.,
QINGHUA L.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
acta anaesthesiologica scandinavica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.738
H-Index - 107
eISSN - 1399-6576
pISSN - 0001-5172
DOI - 10.1111/aas.12433
Subject(s) - sevoflurane , medicine , hippocampus , morris water navigation task , anesthesia , western blot , endocrinology , biochemistry , biology , gene
Background Sevoflurane may be associated with neural toxicity in the developing brain, but the mechanism is still unclear. Phosphorylated extracellular signal‐regulated kinases 1/2 (p ERK 1/2) are important for developing neurons. The aim of our study was to investigate the effects of sevoflurane on spatial learning and memory and on expression of p ERK 1/2 in hippocampus of neonatal rats. Methods Sixty‐three neonatal rats were randomly divided into three groups: control group, sevoflurane (sevo) group, and sham group. Rats in the control group were placed in a plastic chamber flushed continuously for 4 h with air alone, rats in the sevo group were exposed in 5% sevoflurane and air for 4 h, and rats in the sham group were exposed in 5% carbon dioxide and air for 4 h, with identical flow rates for all groups. All three groups were subjected to M orris water maze test 1 day after sevoflurane exposure. Moreover, expression of p ERK 1/2 was determined by immunochemistry and W estern blot at 1, 3, and 6 weeks after exposure. Results Compared with the control group, the escape latency was longer in sevo group and the expression of p ERK 1/2 was significantly inhibited in the sevo group ( P < 0.01); no differences between control and sham groups were observed. Conclusion Our study demonstrated that neonatal rats exposed to sevoflurane had impaired spatial learning and memory, and this may be attributed to decreased p ERK 1/2 in the hippocampus.