Objective: To study the effect of sevoflurane on the proliferation of neural stem cells in neonatal rats.
Methods: 48 SD rats aged 7 days, weighing 15-20 g, were randomly divided into 3 groups: control group (Con group), 1% sevoflurane group (S1 group), 3% sevoflurane group (S2 group) Group). Groups S1 and S2 were inhaled with 1% and 3% sevoflurane for 4 hours, respectively. Neonatal rats in each group were intraperitoneally injected with 5-bromodeoxyuridine 100 mg/kg before anesthesia, and the rats were sacrificed 6 h after the anesthesia, and the ventricular and subventricular tissues were separated. Nestin and BrdU staining were performed by immunohistochemistry, and the proliferation rate of neural stem cells in the ventricular area and subventricular area was calculated and detected; the protein expressions of Nestin, Cyclin D1, BMP2 and Smad4 were detected by Western blot method.
RESULTS: Compared with the control group, the expression of Nestin protein in the ventricular area and the subventricular area of the rats in the S1 and S2 groups decreased, the proliferation rate of neural stem cells decreased, the expression of Cyclin D1 decreased, and the expressions of BMP2 and Smad4 were up-regulated (P < 0.05).
Conclusion: Sevoflurane can inhibit the proliferation of neural stem cells in neonatal rats, and the mechanism may be related to the changes of Cyclin D1, BMP2 and Smad4 protein expressions.