title: Effect of pentobarbital and isoflurane on acute stress response in rat.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Anesthesia administration before sacrificing animals is a common practice in stress-related studies, but the effect of anesthesia on the results remains understudied. We aimed to reveal the interference of different anesthetics, i.e. intraperitoneal (i.p.) sodium-pentobarbital injection or isoflurane inhalation, with the acute stress responses in rats.
  
  
  METHODS
  Rats were randomly divided into foot shock (FS) and non-stressed control groups, and further grouped according to the sacrificing procedure: direct decapitation, decapitation after i.p. sodium-pentobarbital injection, or isoflurane inhalation. There was also a non-stressed group sacrificed by decapitation following i.p. saline injection. Plasma levels of corticosterone (CORT), testosterone and estradiol, hypothalamic stress-related molecule mRNA expression of corticotropin-releasing hormone, arginine vasopressin and oxytocin, and frontal lobe stress-related molecule mRNA expression of NMDA receptor subunit NR2B, GABAA receptor and the neuronal-type nicotinic acetylcholine receptor were measured.
  
  
  RESULTS
  FS significantly increased plasma CORT levels in direct decapitation and isoflurane groups, while this stress response 'disappeared' following i.p. sodium-pentobarbital injection. In control animals, both the injection of saline and pentobarbital caused a significant increase of plasma CORT. Neither the sex hormone levels nor the mRNA expression of stress-related molecules in the brain showed significant differences among the groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The injection of the anesthetic compound rather than the compound itself may cause extra stress which interferes with the plasma CORT levels, but not with plasma sex hormone levels nor with the brain mRNA expression. Isoflurane inhalation leaves the stress response intact and is also optimal from an ethical point of view.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurobiology, Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology of Ministry of Health of China, Zhejiang Province Key Laboratory of Neurobiology, Zhejiang Province Key Laboratory of Mental Disorder's Management, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China. Electronic address: janewuxeyan@163.com.
authors.forename: Xue-Yan
authors.initials: XY
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurobiology, Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology of Ministry of Health of China, Zhejiang Province Key Laboratory of Neurobiology, Zhejiang Province Key Laboratory of Mental Disorder's Management, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China. Electronic address: l-v-lms@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Yu-Ting
authors.initials: YT
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurobiology, Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology of Ministry of Health of China, Zhejiang Province Key Laboratory of Neurobiology, Zhejiang Province Key Laboratory of Mental Disorder's Management, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China. Electronic address: persi1989@163.com.
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurobiology, Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology of Ministry of Health of China, Zhejiang Province Key Laboratory of Neurobiology, Zhejiang Province Key Laboratory of Mental Disorder's Management, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China. Electronic address: gigi1986@126.com.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurobiology, Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology of Ministry of Health of China, Zhejiang Province Key Laboratory of Neurobiology, Zhejiang Province Key Laboratory of Mental Disorder's Management, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China. Electronic address: cindyathic@sina.com.
authors.forename: Qiong-Bin
authors.initials: QB
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurobiology, Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology of Ministry of Health of China, Zhejiang Province Key Laboratory of Neurobiology, Zhejiang Province Key Laboratory of Mental Disorder's Management, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China. Electronic address: yl_hz@163.com.
authors.forename: Er
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurobiology, Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology of Ministry of Health of China, Zhejiang Province Key Laboratory of Neurobiology, Zhejiang Province Key Laboratory of Mental Disorder's Management, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China. Electronic address: biochhappy@163.com.
authors.forename: Juan-Li
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurobiology, Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology of Ministry of Health of China, Zhejiang Province Key Laboratory of Neurobiology, Zhejiang Province Key Laboratory of Mental Disorder's Management, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China. Electronic address: slg0904@163.com.
authors.forename: Li-Gen
authors.initials: LG
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.affiliation: Department of Mental Health, Zhejiang Province Key Laboratory of Mental Disorder's Management, First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, 79 Qing Chun Road, Hangzhou 310003, China. Electronic address: hml1208@sina.com.
authors.forename: Man-Li
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurobiology, Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology of Ministry of Health of China, Zhejiang Province Key Laboratory of Neurobiology, Zhejiang Province Key Laboratory of Mental Disorder's Management, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China. Electronic address: baoaimin@zju.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Ai-Min
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Bao
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001127:Arginine Vasopressin / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D003345:Corticosterone / Q000097:blood; D003346:Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000187:drug effects; D006993:Hypnotics and Sedatives / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D007530:Isoflurane / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D010121:Oxytocin / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D010424:Pentobarbital / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D011978:Receptors, Nicotinic / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy*
chemical_list: D006993:Hypnotics and Sedatives; C121001:NR2B NMDA receptor; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate; D011978:Receptors, Nicotinic; D001127:Arginine Vasopressin; D010121:Oxytocin; D003346:Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone; D007530:Isoflurane; D010424:Pentobarbital; D003345:Corticosterone
keywords: Anesthesia; Isoflurane; Sodium-pentobarbital; Stress; Stress response