ABSTRACT
This study examined the effects of clinically relevant concentrations of isoflurane on the amplitude of NMDA receptor current (INMDA) and the expression of cytochrome C in cultured developing rat hippocampal neurons.The hippocampi were dissected from newborn Sprague-Dawley rats.Hippocampal neurons were primarily cultured for 5 days and then treated with different concentrations of isoflurane [(0.25,0.5,0.75,1 minimum alveolar concentration (MAC))].The peak of INMDA was recorded by means of the whole cell patch clamp technique.The cytochrome C level was detected by Western blotting and quantitative real-time PCR.Our results showed that isoflurane (0.25,0.5,0.75 and 1 MAC) potentiated the amplitude of INMDA by (116±8.8)％,(122±11.7)％,(135±14.3)％ and (132±14.6)％,respectively,and isoflurane increased the mRNA expression of cytochrome C in a concentration-dependent manner.The cytochrome C mRNA expression reached a maximum after 0.5 MAC isoflurane stimulation for 6 h (P＜0.05).It was concluded that isoflurane enhances the expression of cytochrome C in cultured rat hippocampal neurons,which may be mediated by facilitation of NMDA receptor.