Anesthetic action on stimulus-secretion coupling

The Effects of General Anesthetics on Synaptic Transmission

General anesthetics are a class of drugs that target the central nervous system and are widely used for various medical procedures. General anesthetics produce many behavioral changes required for clinical intervention, including amnesia, hypnosis, analgesia, and immobility; while they may also induce side effects like respiration and cardiovascular depressions. Understanding the mechanism of general anesthesia is essential for the development of selective general anesthetics which can preserve wanted pharmacological actions and exclude the side effects and underlying neural toxicities. However, the exact mechanism of how general anesthetics work is still elusive. Various molecular targets have been identified as specific targets for general anesthetics. Among these molecular targets, ion channels are the most principal category, including ligand-gated ionotropic receptors like γ-aminobutyric acid, glutamate and acetylcholine receptors, voltage-gated ion channels like voltage-gated sodium channel, calcium channel and potassium channels, and some second massager coupled channels. For neural functions of the central nervous system, synaptic transmission is the main procedure for which information is transmitted between neurons through brain regions, and intact synaptic function is fundamentally important for almost all the nervous functions, including consciousness, memory, and cognition. Therefore, it is important to understand the effects of general anesthetics on synaptic transmission via modulations of specific ion channels and relevant molecular targets, which can lead to the development of safer general anesthetics with selective actions. The present review will summarize the effects of various general anesthetics on synaptic transmissions and plasticity.

What the actions of anaesthetics on fast synaptic transmission reveal about the molecular mechanism of anaesthesia

1. Synapses with the brain are important components of the networks responsible for higher nervous function and current evidence suggests that general anaesthetics modulate synaptic transmission in the brain. 2. Analysis of anaesthetic action on these synapses not only defines the cellular mechanisms involved in anaesthesia but also reveals much about the molecular targets of anaesthetic action. 3. It appears that while anaesthetics affect a wide variety of processes, the most sensitive are those which are directly linked to the activity of ligand-gated ion channels. Moreover, both single channel patch clamp studies and the molecular biological investigations of the sub-unit specificity of the sensitivity to anaesthetics indicate that anaesthetics interact directly with these functional proteins.

Halothane and isoflurane enhance basal and carbachol-stimulated inositol(1,4,5)triphosphate formation in SH-SY5Y human neuroblastoma cells

The cellular mechanisms underlying the clinical effects of volatile anaesthetics remain unknown, although the plasma membrane and its associated proteins are likely targets. One such protein is the enzyme phospholipase C (PLC), which catalyses the formation of the second messenger inositol(1,4,5)triphosphate [Ins(1,4,5)P3]. Using SH-SY5Y human neuroblastoma cells we have demonstrated that halothane (0.50, 0.75 and 1.00%) enhances basal Ins(1,4,5)P3 mass formation approximately 1.8-fold. Halothane also caused a dose-dependent enhancement of carbachol-stimulated biphasic Ins(1,4,5)P3 formation at both the peak (half-maximal stimulation, EC50 = 0.76%) and plateau (EC50 = 0.74%) phases. At 1%, halothane did not alter the affinity for carbachol at either the peak (IC50: air = 9.4 +/- 1.5, halothane = 12.7 +/- 1.0 microM) or plateau (EC50: air = 11.7 +/- 1.2, halothane = 11.6 +/- 1.0 microM) phase, but did increase the maximum Ins(1,4,5)P3 response at both phases (air vs halothane: peak, 79.9 +/- 0.5 vs 124.8 +/- 2.5; plateau, 33.2 +/- 0.5 vs 47.9 +/- 0.6 pmol/mg protein). Isoflurane (2%) also enhanced basal and carbachol-stimulated Ins(1,4,5)P3 formation 2-fold and 1.5-fold, respectively. In summary, clinically relevant doses of the volatile anaesthetics halothane and isoflurane enhance basal and carbachol-stimulated Ins(1,4,5)P3 formation. Thus, activation of PLC, and subsequent potential Ins(1,4,5)P3-mediated rises in intracellular calcium, could play a part in the cellular mechanisms of volatile agent-induced anaesthesia.