Effects of Excitotoxic Lesion with Inhaled Anesthetics on Nervous System Cells of Rodents

Abstract

Different anesthesia methods can variably influence excitotoxic lesion effects on the brain. The main purpose of this review is to identify potential differences in the toxicity to nervous system cells of two common inhalation anesthesia methods, isoflurane and sevoflurane, used in combination with an excitotoxic lesion procedure in rodents. The use of bioassays in animal models has provided the opportunity to examine the role of specific molecules and cellular interactions that underlie important aspects of neurotoxic effects relating to calcium homeostasis and apoptosis activation. Processes induced by NMDA antagonist drugs involve translocation of Bax protein to mitochondrial membranes, allowing extra-mitochondrial leakage of cytochrome C, followed by sequence of changes that ending in activation of CASP-3. The literature demonstrates that the use of these anesthetics in excitotoxic surgery increases neuroinflammation activity facilitating the effects of apoptosis and necrosis on nervous system cells, depending on the concentration and exposure duration of the anesthetic. High numbers of microglia and astrocytes and high levels of proinflammatory cytokines and caspase activation possibly mediate these inflammatory responses. However, it is necessary to continue studies in rodents to understand the effect of the use of inhaled anesthetics with excitotoxic lesions in different developmental stages, including newborns, juveniles and adults. Understanding the mechanisms of regulation of cell death during development can potentially provide tools to promote neuroprotection and eventually achieve the repair of the nervous system in pathological conditions.

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The Role of Microglia in Perioperative Neurocognitive Disorders

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Prenatal sevoflurane exposure: Effects of iron metabolic dysfunction on offspring cognition and potential mechanism

“…However, the exact mechanism by which sevoflurane damages the central nervous system (CNS) is not fully understood. So far, sevoflurane may damage the CNS through the following mechanisms: neuronal apoptosis (Bi et al, 2018; Wang & Zhou, 2018), endoplasmic reticulum stress, neuroinflammation (Wang et al, 2014; Wang et al., 2019), oxidative stress‐induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation (Xu & Qian, 2020; Zhou, 2018), neurotransmitter disturbances (Moore & Anghelescu, 2017), autophagy (Li et al, 2017; Zhang et al, 2016), necrosis (Quiroz‐Padilla et al., 2018), and changes in synaptic plasticity (Xiao et al., 2016). These mechanisms are too closely related to each other to function independently (Song et al, 2018).…”