Long-Term Sevoflurane Exposure Inhibits The Proliferation, Differentiation, and Homing Potential of Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cells

Background: Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) are widely used in many fields such as wound repair, gene delivery, and microenvironment improvement. In some cases, BMSC transplantation requires long-term anesthesia. However, the effects of anesthetics on the characteristics of BMSCs are poorly understood.Methods: In this study, we examined the effect of sevoflurane, a gas anesthetic drug most commonly used in children, on the proliferation, differentiation, and homing potential of BMSCs.Results: Short-term (6 h) sevoflurane exposure had almost no effect on the proliferation, differentiation, and homing of BMSCs. However, long-term (24 h) sevoflurane exposure inhibited the proliferation of BMSCs, accelerated their differentiation into nerve cells, and inhibited their homing potential to damaged vascular endothelial cells and intact glioma cells.Conclusion: Short-term anesthesia with sevoflurane as the main inducer is safe and harmless to BMSCs, but long-term sevoflurane exposure may reduce their repair potential. Therefore, because of the high proportion of BMSCs in children, the application of long-term anesthesia with sevoflurane should be cautious, or more suitable anesthetic drugs are needed.