Skip Navigation



BJA Advance Access published online on September 13, 2006
British Journal of Anaesthesia, doi:10.1093/bja/ael239
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
97/5/687    most recent
ael239v1
Right arrow E-Letters: Submit a response to the article
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when E-letters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Grasshoff, C.
Right arrow Articles by Antkowiak, B.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Grasshoff, C.
Right arrow Articles by Antkowiak, B.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© The Board of Management and Trustees of the British Journal of Anaesthesia 2006. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org
Accepted June 19, 2006

Laboratory Investigation

Effects of isoflurane and enflurane on GABAA and glycine receptors contribute equally to depressant actions on spinal ventral horn neurones in rats

C. Grasshoff 1 * and B. Antkowiak 1

1 Experimental Anaesthesiology Section, Department of Anaesthesiology, University of Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
C. Grasshoff, E-mail: christian.grasshoff{at}uni-tuebingen.de


  Abstract

Background. Volatile anaesthetics are widely used agents in clinical anaesthesia, although their mechanism of action is poorly understood. In particular, the dominant molecular mechanisms by which volatile anaesthetics depress spinal neurones and thereby mediate spinal effects such as immobility have recently become a matter of dispute. As GABAA and glycine receptors are potential candidates we investigated the impact of both receptor systems in mediating the depressant effects of isoflurane and enflurane on spinal neurones in rats.

Methods. The effects of isoflurane and enflurane on spontaneous action potential firing were investigated by extracellular voltage recordings from ventral horn interneurones in cultured spinal cord tissue slices obtained from embryonic rats (E 14-15).

Results. Isoflurane and enflurane reduced spontaneous action potential firing. Concentrations causing half-maximal effects (isoflurane: 0.17 mM; enflurane: 0.50 mM) were less than EC50-immobility (isoflurane: 0.32 mM; enflurane: 0.62 mM). Effects of isoflurane were mediated by 39% by glycine receptors and 36% by GABAA receptors. The effects of enflurane were mediated 26% by GABAA receptors and 29% by glycine receptors.

Conclusion. These results demonstrate that the effects of isoflurane and enflurane on GABAA and glycine receptors contribute almost equally to their depressant actions on spinal ventral horn neurones in rats. The fraction of inhibition mediated by both receptor systems differs between specific volatile anaesthetics. Our data argue against the theory that a dominant molecular mechanism accounts for spinal effects of volatile anaesthetics.

Keywords: anaesthetics volatile; molecular mechanisms; neurones, spinal.
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Anesth. Analg.Home page
J. W. Sleigh, J. A. Vizuete, L. Voss, A. Steyn-Ross, M. Steyn-Ross, C. J. Marcuccilli, and A. G. Hudetz
The Electrocortical Effects of Enflurane: Experiment and Theory
Anesth. Analg., October 1, 2009; 109(4): 1253 - 1262.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Anesth. Analg.Home page
L. S. Barter, L. O. Mark, and J. F. Antognini
Proprioceptive Function Is More Sensitive than Motor Function to Desflurane Anesthesia
Anesth. Analg., March 1, 2009; 108(3): 867 - 872.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Mol. Pharmacol.Home page
C. Grasshoff, R. Jurd, U. Rudolph, and B. Antkowiak
Modulation of Presynaptic beta3-Containing GABAA Receptors Limits the Immobilizing Actions of GABAergic Anesthetics
Mol. Pharmacol., September 1, 2007; 72(3): 780 - 787.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.