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ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:: Previous studies have demonstrated that isoflurane can provide both neuroprotection and neurotoxicity in various tissue culture models and in rodent developing brains. The cellular and molecular mechanisms mediating these dual effects are not clear, but the exposure level and duration of isoflurane appear to be determinant factors. METHODS:: Using the ReNcell CX (Millipore, Billerica, MA) human neural progenitor cell line, the authors investigated the impact of prolonged exposure to varying isoflurane concentrations on cell survival and neurogenesis. In addition, the authors assessed the impact of short isoflurane preconditioning on elevation of cytosolic Ca concentration and cytotoxic effects mediated by prolonged isoflurane exposures and the contribution of inositol-1,4,5-trisphosphate or ryanodine receptor activation to these processes. RESULTS:: Short exposures to low isoflurane concentrations promote proliferation and differentiation of ReNcell CX cells, with no cell damage. However, prolonged exposures to high isoflurane concentrations induced significant ReNcell CX cell damage and inhibited cell proliferation. These prolonged exposures suppressed neuronal cell fate and promoted glial cell fate. Preconditioning of ReNcell CX cultures with short exposures to low concentrations of isoflurane ameliorated the effects of prolonged exposures to isoflurane. Pretreatment of ReNcell cultures with inositol-1,4,5-trisphosphate or ryanodine receptor antagonists mostly prevented isoflurane-mediated effects on survival, proliferation, and differentiation. Finally, isoflurane-preconditioned cultures showed significantly less isoflurane-evoked changes in calcium concentration. CONCLUSION:: The commonly used general anesthetic isoflurane exerts dual effects on neuronal stem cell survival, proliferation, and differentiation, which may be attributed to differential regulation of calcium release through activation of endoplasmic reticulum localized inositol-1,4,5-trisphosphate and/or ryanodine receptors.
Anesthesiology 01/2013; · 5.36 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Disruption of intracellular calcium homeostasis via abnormal and excessive activation of ryanodine receptors plays an important role in the neuropathology of Alzheimer's disease. We investigated the therapeutic effect of dantrolene, a ryanodine receptor antagonist, on cognitive dysfunction and neuropathology in the triple transgenic Alzheimer mouse model (3xTg-AD). 3xTg-AD mice were treated with dantrolene from 2 to 13 months of age. Learning and memory were measured with the Morris Water Maze at 6, 10, and 13 months of age. Amyloid and tau neuropathology and biomarkers for synaptic dysfunction and neurodegeneration were examined in the brain using immunoblotting or immunohistochemistry. Dantrolene treatment for 11 months significantly reduced both memory deficits and amyloid plaque load in the hippocampus in 13-month-old 3xTg-AD mice. Dantrolene treatment, however, had no effect on phosphorylated tau, phosphorylated or total GSK-3β, synaptic markers, or mitochondrial or cytosolic cytochrome C. Our results suggest that dantrolene significantly improves cognition in a murine model of Alzheimer's disease and is associated with a reduction in amyloid plaque burden, forming the basis for a novel therapeutic approach for Alzheimer's disease.
Neuroscience Letters 04/2012; 516(2):274-9. · 2.11 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: The commonly used general anesthetic isoflurane induces widespread neurodegeneration in the developing mammalian brain through poorly understood mechanisms. We have investigated whether excessive Ca2+ release from the endoplasmic reticulum via overactivation of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptors (InsP3Rs) is a contributing factor in such neurodegeneration in rodent primary cultured neurons and developing rat brain. We also investigated the correlation between isoflurane exposure and cognitive decline in rats at 1 month of age. Our results show that isoflurane increases cytosolic calcium in the primary cortical neurons through release from the endoplasmic reticulum and influx from the extracellular space. Pharmacological inhibition of InsP3R activity and knockdown of its expression nearly abolishes the isoflurane-mediated elevation of the cytosolic calcium concentration and cell death in rodent primary cortical and hippocampal neurons. Inhibition of InsP3R activity by its antagonist xestospongin C significantly inhibits neurodegeneration induced by isoflurane at clinically used concentration in the developing brain of postnatal day 7 rats. Moreover, our results show that isoflurane activates beta-site amyloid beta precursor protein-cleaving enzyme via activation of the InsP3R. We also noted that mice exposed to isoflurane during early postnatal development showed transient memory and learning impairments, which did not correlate well with the noted neuropathological defects. Taken together, our results suggest that Ca2+ dysregulation through overactivation of the InsP3R may be a contributing factor in the mechanism of isoflurane-induced neurodegeneration in rodent neuronal cell culture and during brain development.
Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics 04/2010; 333(1):14-22. · 3.83 Impact Factor