Alterations in rat brain proteins after desflurane anesthesia.
BACKGROUND
Volatile anesthetics disappear from an organism after the end of anesthesia. Whether changes of protein expression persist in the brain for a longer period is not known. This study investigates the question of whether the expression of proteins is altered in the rat brain after the end of desflurane anesthesia.


METHODS
Three groups (n = 12 each) of rats were anesthetized with 5.7% desflurane in air for 3 h. Brains were removed directly after anesthesia, 24 h after anesthesia, or 72 h after anesthesia. Two additional groups (n = 12 each) served as naive conscious controls, in which the brains were removed without previous anesthesia 3 or 72 h after the start of the experiment. Cytosolic proteins were isolated. A proteome-wide study was performed, based on two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and mass spectrometry.


RESULTS
Compared with conscious controls, significant (P < 0.05) increase/decrease was found: 3 h of anesthesia, 5/2 proteins; 24 h after anesthesia, 13/1 proteins; 72 h after anesthesia, 6/4 proteins. The overall changes in protein expression as quantified by the induction factor ranged from -1.67 (decrease to 60%) to 1.79 (increase by 79%) compared with the controls (100%). Some of these regulated proteins play a role in vesicle transport and metabolism.


CONCLUSIONS
Desflurane anesthesia produces changes in cytosolic protein expression up to 72 h after anesthesia in the rat brain, indicating yet unknown persisting effects.
Fütterer
Carsten D
CD
of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, Faculty of Clinical Medicine Mannheim, Theodor-Kutzer-Ufer, 68167 Mannheim, Germany. c.fuetterer@pio1.uni-heidelberg.de
Maurer
Martin H
MH
Schmitt
Anne
A
Feldmann
Robert E
RE
Kuschinsky
Wolfgang
W
Waschke
Klaus F
KF
D000769:Anesthesia, Inhalation; D018685:Anesthetics, Inhalation / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D000077335:Desflurane; D007530:Isoflurane / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008297:Male; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism; D020543:Proteome / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar
D018685:Anesthetics, Inhalation; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D020543:Proteome; D000077335:Desflurane; D007530:Isoflurane