Huang Yan, Xiao Yong, Li Linji, Feng Xinglong, Ding Weixing, Cai Feng
Department of Anesthesiology, Nanchong Central Hospital, Second Clinical Medical College of North Sichuan Medical College, Nanchong, China.
Emergency Department of the General Hospital of the Tibet Military Region, Lhasa, China.
Front Neurosci. 2024 Jan 12;18:1327293. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2024.1327293. eCollection 2024.
Propofol is the most widely used intravenous general anesthetic; however, the neuronal circuits that mediate its anesthetic effects are still poorly understood. Glutamatergic neurons in the lateral hypothalamus have been reported to be involved in maintenance of arousal and consciousness. Using Vglut2-Cre transgenic mice, we recorded this group of cells specifically and found that propofol can directly inhibit the glutamatergic neurons, and enhance inhibitory synaptic inputs on these cells, thereby reducing neuronal excitability. Through chemogenetic interventions, we found that inhibition of these neurons increased the duration of propofol-induced anesthesia and reduced movement in the animals after the recovery of right reflex. In contrast, activating this group of cells reduced the duration of propofol anesthesia and increased the animals' locomotor activity after the recovery of right reflex. These results suggest that propofol-induced anesthesia involves the inhibition of glutamatergic neurons in the lateral hypothalamus.
丙泊酚是使用最广泛的静脉全身麻醉剂；然而，介导其麻醉作用的神经回路仍知之甚少。据报道，下丘脑外侧的谷氨酸能神经元参与觉醒和意识的维持。利用Vglut2-Cre转基因小鼠，我们特异性地记录了这群细胞，发现丙泊酚可直接抑制谷氨酸能神经元，并增强这些细胞上的抑制性突触输入，从而降低神经元兴奋性。通过化学遗传学干预，我们发现抑制这些神经元会增加丙泊酚诱导的麻醉持续时间，并减少动物右侧反射恢复后的活动。相反，激活这群细胞会缩短丙泊酚麻醉的持续时间，并增加动物右侧反射恢复后的运动活性。这些结果表明，丙泊酚诱导的麻醉涉及下丘脑外侧谷氨酸能神经元的抑制。
