Effects of General Anaesthetics on Microtubules

Allison, A. C.; Nunn, J. F.

doi:10.1097/00132586-196912000-00001

Cited by 11 publications

(17 citation statements)

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“…However, abnormalities of vitamin B12 function are unlikely to explain all the kinetic effects of nitrous oxide. For instance, under pressure it has been shown to induce mitotic synchrony in mammalian cells in tissue culture (Rao, 1968) and an effect on microtubules has been proposed (Allison & Nunn, 1968).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Effect of Nitrous Oxide on the Cell Cycle in Human Bone Marrow

et al. 1979

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The effect of 24 h exposure to nitrous oxide on the cell division cycle in human bone marrow has been studied in vivo using the technique of DNA flow microfluorimetry. All patients who received nitrous oxide showed a significant increase in the proportion of early S-phase cells with a decrease in late S, G2 and mitotic cells. These changes resemble those seen following the use of S-phase-specific cytotoxic drugs. Control patients showed no such effect. Parallel studies have suggested that interference with the function of vitamin B12 underlies this response. Nitrous oxide may provide a convenient method for studying the cell kinetic aspects of acute B12 deficiency and the possibility of using it to increase the therapeutic index of antitumour drugs is discussed.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Effect of Nitrous Oxide on the Cell Cycle in Human Bone Marrow

et al. 1979

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“…Actin and microtubules form essential components of the cytoskeleton and are dynamically regulated to control a wide variety of intracellular and intercellular processes. Drug-induced modulation of the cytoskeleton, ultimately leading to impaired neurochemical signaling, was first hypothesized as a potential mechanism of general anesthesia in 1968 [83]. One example occurs with tubulin, an abundant protein that oligomerizes into microtubules to form critical components of cellular (and especially neuronal) scaffolding.…”

Section: Potassium Channelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Biology of General Anesthesia from Paramecium to Primate

Kelz

Mashour

2019

Current Biology

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General anesthesia serves a critically important function in the clinical care of human patients. However, the anesthetized state has foundational implications for biology because anesthetic drugs are effective in organisms ranging from paramecia, to plants, to primates. Although unconsciousness is typically considered the cardinal feature of general anesthesia, this endpoint is only strictly applicable to a select subset of organisms that are susceptible to being anesthetized. We review the behavioral endpoints of general anesthetics across species and propose the isolation of an organism from its environment-both in terms of the afferent arm of sensation and the efferent arm of action-as a generalizable definition. We also consider the various targets and putative mechanisms of general anesthetics across biology and identify key substrates that are conserved, including cytoskeletal elements, ion channels, mitochondria, and functionally coupled electrical or neural activity. We conclude with a unifying framework related to network function and suggest that general anesthetics-from single cells to complex brains-create inefficiency and enhance modularity, leading to the dissociation of functions both within an organism and between the organism and its surroundings. Collectively, we demonstrate that general anesthesia is not restricted to the domain of modern medicine but has broad biological relevance with wide-ranging implications for a diverse array of species.

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“…The notion that the cytoskeleton plays a role in general anesthesia reaches back almost 40 years when Allison and Nunn first proposed the idea based on the depolymerization and structural alteration of MTs by volatile anesthetics [50]. This hypothesis was largely invalidated when it was found that the concentrations of anesthetics required to depolymerize MTs was far above the clinical dosage [100].…”

Section: The Microtubule Cytoskeleton In Learning Memory and Consciomentioning

confidence: 99%

Microtubule Ionic Conduction and Its Implications for Higher Cognitive Functions

Craddock¹,

Tuszyński²,

Priel³

et al. 2010

J. Integr. Neurosci.

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The neuronal cytoskeleton has been hypothesized to play a role in higher cognitive functions including learning, memory and consciousness. Experimental evidence suggests that both microtubules and actin filaments act as biological electrical wires that can transmit and amplify electric signals via the flow of condensed ion clouds. The potential transmission of electrical signals via the cytoskeleton is of extreme importance to the electrical activity of neurons in general. In this regard, the unique structure, geometry and electrostatics of microtubules are discussed with the expected impact on their specific functions within the neuron. Electric circuit models of ionic flow along microtubules are discussed in the context of experimental data, and the specific importance of both the tubulin C-terminal tail regions, and the nano-pore openings lining the microtubule wall is elucidated. Overall, these recent results suggest that ions, condensed around the surface of the major filaments of the cytoskeleton, flow along and through microtubules in the presence of potential differences, thus acting as transmission lines propagating intracellular signals in a given cell. The significance of this conductance to the functioning of the electrically active neuron, and to higher cognitive function is also discussed.

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Effects of General Anaesthetics on Microtubules

Cited by 11 publications

References 0 publications

The Effect of Nitrous Oxide on the Cell Cycle in Human Bone Marrow

The Effect of Nitrous Oxide on the Cell Cycle in Human Bone Marrow

The Biology of General Anesthesia from Paramecium to Primate

Microtubule Ionic Conduction and Its Implications for Higher Cognitive Functions

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