title: Alpha5GABAA receptors mediate the amnestic but not sedative-hypnotic effects of the general anesthetic etomidate.
abstract: A fundamental objective of anesthesia research is to identify the receptors and brain regions that mediate the various behavioral components of the anesthetic state, including amnesia, immobility, and unconsciousness. Using complementary in vivo and in vitro approaches, we found that GABAA receptors that contain the alpha5 subunit (alpha5GABAARs) play a critical role in amnesia caused by the prototypic intravenous anesthetic etomidate. Whole-cell recordings from hippocampal pyramidal neurons showed that etomidate markedly increased a tonic inhibitory conductance generated by alpha5GABAARs, whereas synaptic transmission was only slightly enhanced. Long-term potentiation (LTP) of field EPSPs recorded in CA1 stratum radiatum was reduced by etomidate in wild-type (WT) but not alpha5 null mutant (alpha5-/-) mice. In addition, etomidate impaired memory performance of WT but not alpha5-/- mice for spatial and nonspatial hippocampal-dependent learning tasks. The brain concentration of etomidate associated with memory impairment in vivo was comparable with that which increased the tonic inhibitory conductance and blocked LTP in vitro. The alpha5-/- mice did not exhibit a generalized resistance to etomidate, in that the sedative-hypnotic effects measured with the rotarod, loss of righting reflex, and spontaneous motor activity were similar in WT and alpha5-/- mice. Deletion of the alpha5 subunit of the GABAARs reduced the amnestic but not the sedative-hypnotic properties of etomidate. Thus, the amnestic and sedative-hypnotic properties of etomidate can be dissociated on the basis of GABAAR subtype pharmacology.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Medical Science, Division of Neurology, Department of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 1A8, Canada.
authors.forename: Victor Y
authors.initials: VY
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.forename: Loren J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.forename: Erin M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Elliott
authors.forename: John H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Howard T J
authors.initials: HT
authors.lastname: Mount
authors.forename: Franco A
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Taverna
authors.forename: John C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Roder
authors.forename: John F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Macdonald
authors.forename: Amit
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bhambri
authors.forename: Neil
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Collinson
authors.forename: Keith A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Wafford
authors.forename: Beverley A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Orser
mesh_terms: D000200:Action Potentials / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D000647:Amnesia / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000378:metabolism; D018681:Anesthetics, General / Q000008:administration & dosage; D000818:Animals; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D005045:Etomidate / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D006991:Hypnosis, Anesthetic / Q000379:methods*; D006993:Hypnotics and Sedatives / Q000008:administration & dosage; D017774:Long-Term Potentiation / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D008568:Memory / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology*; D051379:Mice; D017966:Pyramidal Cells / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D011963:Receptors, GABA-A / Q000378:metabolism*; D009435:Synaptic Transmission / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D018681:Anesthetics, General; C496250:Gabra5 protein, mouse; D006993:Hypnotics and Sedatives; D011963:Receptors, GABA-A; D005045:Etomidate