title: BPC 157 antagonized the general anaesthetic potency of thiopental and reduced prolongation of anaesthesia induced by L-NAME/thiopental combination.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We hypothesized that certain effects of the general anaesthetic thiopental are dependent on NO-related mechanisms, which were consequently counteracted by stable gastric pentadecapeptide BPC 157.
  
  
  METHODS
  (1) All rats intraperitoneally received thiopental (20, 30, 40, and 50 mg/kg) while medication BPC 157 (10 μg/kg, 10 ng/kg, and 10 pg/kg) was given intraperitoneally at 5 min before thiopental. (2) To determine NO-related mechanisms, all rats received intraperitoneally thiopental 40 mg/kg while BPC 157 (10 μg/kg), L-NAME (10 mg/kg) and L-arginine (30 mg/kg) were applied alone and/or combined. BPC 157 was given at 25 min before thiopental while L-NAME, L-arginine, alone and/or combined, were applied at 20 min before thiopental.
  
  
  RESULTS
  (1) BPC 157 own effect on thiopental anaesthesia: BPC 157 (10 ng/kg and 10 μg/kg) caused a significant antagonism of general anaesthesia produced by thiopental with a parallel shift of the dose-response curve to the right. (2) L-NAME-L-arginine-BPC 157 interrelations: L-NAME: Thiopental-induced anaesthesia duration was tripled. L-arginine: Usual thiopental anaesthesia time was not influenced. Active only when given with L-NAME or BPC 157: potentiating effects of L-NAME were lessened, not abolished; shortening effect of BPC 157: abolished. BPC 157 and L-NAME: Potentiating effects of L-NAME were abolished. BPC 157 and L-NAME and L-arginine: BPC 157 +L-NAME +L-arginine rats exhibited values close to those in BPC 157 rats.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Thiopental general anaesthesia is simultaneously manipulated in both ways with NO system activity modulation, L-NAME (prolongation) and BPC 157 (shortening/counteraction) and L-arginine (interference with L-NAME and BPC 157).
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Salata 11, PO Box 916, 10000, Zagreb, Croatia.
authors.forename: Mladen
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zemba
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Salata 11, PO Box 916, 10000, Zagreb, Croatia.
authors.forename: Andrea Zemba
authors.initials: AZ
authors.lastname: Cilic
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Salata 11, PO Box 916, 10000, Zagreb, Croatia.
authors.forename: Igor
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Balenovic
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Salata 11, PO Box 916, 10000, Zagreb, Croatia.
authors.forename: Matija
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cilic
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Salata 11, PO Box 916, 10000, Zagreb, Croatia.
authors.forename: Bozo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Radic
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Salata 11, PO Box 916, 10000, Zagreb, Croatia.
authors.forename: Jelena
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Suran
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Salata 11, PO Box 916, 10000, Zagreb, Croatia.
authors.forename: Domagoj
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Drmic
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Salata 11, PO Box 916, 10000, Zagreb, Croatia.
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kokot
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Salata 11, PO Box 916, 10000, Zagreb, Croatia.
authors.forename: Vasilije
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Stambolija
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Salata 11, PO Box 916, 10000, Zagreb, Croatia.
authors.forename: Tamara
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Murselovic
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Salata 11, PO Box 916, 10000, Zagreb, Croatia.
authors.forename: Jadranka Katancic
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Holjevac
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Salata 11, PO Box 916, 10000, Zagreb, Croatia.
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Uzun
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Salata 11, PO Box 916, 10000, Zagreb, Croatia.
authors.forename: Viktor
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Djuzel
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Salata 11, PO Box 916, 10000, Zagreb, Croatia.
authors.forename: Josipa
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Vlainic
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia.
authors.forename: Sven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Seiwerth
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Salata 11, PO Box 916, 10000, Zagreb, Croatia. sikiric@mef.hr.
authors.forename: Predrag
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sikiric
mesh_terms: D000758:Anesthesia / Q000379:methods; D018681:Anesthetics, General / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000818:Animals; D000897:Anti-Ulcer Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D001120:Arginine / Q000378:metabolism; D004357:Drug Synergism; D008297:Male; D019331:NG-Nitroarginine Methyl Ester / Q000494:pharmacology*; D010446:Peptide Fragments / Q000494:pharmacology*; D011506:Proteins / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D013874:Thiopental / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D018681:Anesthetics, General; D000897:Anti-Ulcer Agents; D010446:Peptide Fragments; D011506:Proteins; C083833:BPC 157; D001120:Arginine; D013874:Thiopental; D019331:NG-Nitroarginine Methyl Ester
keywords: Anaesthesia; BPC 157; Rats; Thiopental