Objective To study the protective effect of volatile anesthetics, isoflurane and sevoflurane, on ischemic neurons after cerebral ischemia-reperfusion in rats and its possible molecular mechanism. Methods Rat cerebral ischemia-reperfusion model was developed by occlusion of the middle cerebral artery （MCA） and bilateral common carotid arteries （CCAs） 1 h after reperfusion. Using flow cytometry （FCM） and Northern blot hybridization, we calculated the number of apoptotic bodies and detected the expression of bcl-2 mRNA and interleukin-113 converting enzyme （ICE） mRNA. Results The apoptotic bodies in hippocampus analyzed by FCM peaked at appeared 24 h after reperfusion, and decreased about 54% and 40%, respectively, after treatment with isoflurane and sevoflurane, as compared with ischemic group. There was no significant difference in the expression of bcl-2 mRNA and ICE mRNA between the inhaled anesthetic groups and ischemic group in hippocampus 24 h after MCA/CCAs occlusion. Conclusion Isoflurane and sevoflurane partially inhibit apoptosis but have no significant effect on the expression of bcl-2 and ICE genes.
SHAO-DONG ZHANG JING ZHAI HUI ZHANG HONG WAN DE-ZHI LI
