Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology
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Recently it was demonstrated that the exposure of the developing brain during the period of synaptogenesis to drugs that block NMDA glutamate receptors can trigger widespread apoptotic neurodegeneration. Sevoflurane is a new inhalation anesthetic agent commonly used in the clinic. Here we address whether sevoflurane could induce neurotoxicity in the developing brain. ⋯ The results showed that the exposure of gestation but not pregestation rats to sevoflurane-induced extensive apoptotic neurodegeneration in the hippocampus of offspring at P0, P7, and P14, accompanied by altered expression of casepase-3, GAP-43, nNOS, NMDAR1, NMDAR2A, and NMDAR2B. Furthermore, upregulation of PKCα and p-JNK and downregulation of p-ERK and FOS protein levels were observed in the hippocampus of offspring at P0, P7, and P14 from rats exposed to sevoflurane at gestation, but not pregestation. In summary, our data suggest that sevoflurane induces developmental neurotoxicity in rats and this may be attributed to the upregulation of PKCα and p-JNK and downregulation of p-ERK and FOS protein in the hippocampus.