title: Electron spin changes during general anesthesia in Drosophila.
abstract: We show that the general anesthetics xenon, sulfur hexafluoride, nitrous oxide, and chloroform cause rapid increases of different magnitude and time course in the electron spin content of Drosophila. With the exception of CHCl3, these changes are reversible. Anesthetic-resistant mutant strains of Drosophila exhibit a different pattern of spin responses to anesthetic. In two such mutants, the spin response to CHCl3 is absent. We propose that these spin changes are caused by perturbation of the electronic structure of proteins by general anesthetics. Using density functional theory, we show that general anesthetics perturb and extend the highest occupied molecular orbital of a nine-residue α-helix. The calculated perturbations are qualitatively in accord with the Meyer-Overton relationship and some of its exceptions. We conclude that there may be a connection between spin, electron currents in cells, and the functioning of the nervous system.
authors.affiliation: Division of Neuroscience, Biomedical Sciences Research Centre Alexander Fleming, 16672 Vari, Greece; and lucaturin@me.com.
authors.forename: Luca
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Turin
authors.affiliation: Division of Neuroscience, Biomedical Sciences Research Centre Alexander Fleming, 16672 Vari, Greece; and.
authors.forename: Efthimios M C
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Skoulakis
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Andrew P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Horsfield
mesh_terms: D000768:Anesthesia, General; D018681:Anesthetics, General / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000818:Animals; D055592:Biophysical Phenomena; D002725:Chloroform / Q000494:pharmacology; D004330:Drosophila / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics; D004578:Electron Spin Resonance Spectroscopy; D008543:Melanins / Q000378:metabolism; D009154:Mutation; D009609:Nitrous Oxide / Q000494:pharmacology; D017433:Protein Structure, Secondary / Q000187:drug effects; D055672:Static Electricity; D013459:Sulfur Hexafluoride / Q000494:pharmacology; D014978:Xenon / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D018681:Anesthetics, General; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D008543:Melanins; C041877:eumelanin; D014978:Xenon; D002725:Chloroform; D009609:Nitrous Oxide; D013459:Sulfur Hexafluoride
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