Neural Regeneration Research ›› 2019, Vol. 14 ›› Issue (11): 2020-2024.doi: 10.4103/1673-5374.259627

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Etomidate affects the anti-oxidant pathway to protect retinal ganglion cells after optic nerve transection

Xuan Zhao 1, 2 , Fang Kuang 1 , Yi-Yan You 3 , Ming-Mei Wu 1 , Si-Wei You 1   

  1. 1 Department of Neurobiology and Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Science, Air Force Medical University, Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, China
    2 Department of Histology and Embryology & Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Brain Disorders, Xi’an Medical University, Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, China
    3 Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ, USA
  • Online:2019-11-15 Published:2019-11-15
  • Contact: Si-Wei You, PhD, yousiwei@hotmail.com; Ming-Mei Wu, PhD, wumm33@163.com.
  • Supported by:

    This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 81670846 (to MMW) and 81470631 (to SWY); the Natural Science Foundation of Shaanxi Province of China, No. 2016SF-171 (to MMW), and the National Basic Research Program of China, No. 2014CB542202 (to SWY).

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Abstract:

Our previous studies revealed that etomidate, a non-barbiturate intravenous anesthetic agent, has protective effects on retinal ganglion cells within 7 days after optic nerve transection. Whether this process is related to anti-oxidative stress is not clear. To reveal its mechanism, we established the optic nerve transection injury model by transecting 1 mm behind the left eyeball of adult male Sprague-Dawley rats. The rats received an intraperitoneal injection of etomidate (4 mg/kg) once per day for 7 days. The results showed that etomidate significantly enhanced the number of retinal ganglion cells retrogradely labeled with Fluorogold at 7 days after optic nerve transection. Etomidate also significantly reduced the levels of nitric oxide and malonaldehyde in the retina and increased the level of glutathione at 12 hours after optic nerve transection. Thus, etomidate can protect retinal ganglion cells after optic nerve transection in adult rats by activating an anti-oxidative stress response. The study was approved by the Animal Ethics Committee at Air Force Medical University, China (approval No. 20180305) on March 5, 2018.

Key words: nerve regeneration, etomidate, retinal ganglion cells, optic nerve transection, anti-oxidative stress, nitric oxide, malonaldehyde, glutathione, neural regeneration