Effect of Midazolam on caspase-3 activation of cerebral neurons in 7-day-old rats / 第三军医大学学报

ABSTRACT

Objective To observe the effect of Midazolam on caspase-3 activation of cortical neurons in rat brain Methods The experiment consisted of part A and part B,including 64 7-day-old Sprague Dawley rats of either sex In part A 24 rats were randomly divided into 4 groups according to the time point when the arterial blood was collected after intraperitoneal injection of 180 mg/kg Midazolam(n=6 in each group),group A1 without Midazolam treatment as control,group A2 (15 min),group A3 (30 min),group A4 (60 min) In part B,40 rats were randomly divided into groups B2-B5 (n=8 in each group) according to the dose of Midazolam (45,90,145,180 mg/kg) and group B1 as control receiving 180 mg/kg normal saline Both control and experimental rats were perfused transcardially with paraformaldehyde 6 h after Midazolam treatment,then their brains takenout were used for caspase-3 examination by immunohistochemistry Results Single injection of Midazolam did not induce hypoxia/ischemia in 7-day-old SD rats,but led to the activation of caspase-3 in cerebral neurons Furthermore,higher single dose of Midazolam enhanced the activation of caspase-3 more Conclusion Midazolam triggers the activation of caspase-3 in cortical neurons and may lead to neuronal apoptosis