Anaesthetic-dependent changes in gene expression following acute and chronic exposure in the rodent brain

Abstract Anaesthesia has been predicted to affect gene expression of the memory-related regions of the brain including the primary visual cortex. It is also believed that anaesthesia causes inflammation of neural tissues, increasing elderly patients’ chances of developing precursor lesions that lead to Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegeneration related diseases. We have analyzed the expression of over 22,000 genes and 129,800 transcripts using oligonucleotide microarrays to examine the brain expression profiles in Sprague Dawley rats following exposure to acute or chronic doses of the anaesthetics isoflurane, ketamine and propofol. Here we report for the first time molecular and genomic data on the effect on the rodent brain of chronic and acute exposure to isoflurane, ketamine and propofol. Our screen identified multiple genes that responded to all three anaesthetics. Although some of the genes were previously known to be anaesthesia responsive, we have for the most part identified novel genes involved in the acute and chronic rodent brain response to different anaesthesia treatments. The latter may be useful candidate genes in the search to elucidate the molecular pathways mediating anaesthetic effects in the brain and may allow us to identify mechanisms by which anaesthetics could impact on neurodegeneration.