Dexmedetomidine attenuates isoflurane-induced cognitive impairment through antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptosis in aging rat.

As a kind of α2 adrenergic receptor agonists, dexmedetomidine generates sedation, anti-anxiety and anesthesia effects by hyperpolarizing noradrenergic nerve cells in locus coeruleus. This study was designed to investigate the neuroprotective of dexmedetomidine attenuates isoflurane-induced cognitive impairment, and the possible underlying mechanism in aging rat. Firstly, we used isoflurane-induced aging rat model to analyze the therapeutical effect of dexmedetomidine on cognitive impairment. Next, commercial ELISA kits were used to analyze tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), methane dicarboxylic aldehyde (MDA) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) and caspase-3 levels. In addition, Western blotting was used to detect the protein expression of P38 MAPK, PTEN and phosphorylation-Akt (p-Akt) expression. Our results showed that the neuroprotective of dexmedetomidine significantly attenuates isoflurane-induced cognitive impairment in aging rat. Moreover, dexmedetomidine significantly inhibited these TNF-α, IL-1β, MDA, SOD and caspase-3 activities in isoflurane-induced aging rat. Meanwhile, the neuroprotective effects of dexmedetomidine on isoflurane-induced cognitive impairment significantly suppressed Bcl-xL/Bad rate, P38 MAPK and PTEN protein expression and activated p-Akt protein expression in aging rat. Collectively, neuroprotective effect of dexmedetomidine attenuates isoflurane-induced cognitive impairment through antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptosis in aging rat.