Acta Veterinaria et Zootechnica Sinica ›› 2021, Vol. 52 ›› Issue (8): 2302-2308.doi: 10.11843/j.issn.0366-6964.2021.08.023

• BASIC VETERINARY MEDICINE • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Effects of Dexmedetomidine on Ketamine Induced Nerve Injury in Developing Rats

ZHANG Zhiheng, BAI Hui, SHEN Meilun, MA Xiangying, LI Rouqian, JIN Xiaodi, GAO Li*   

  1. Heilongjiang Key Laboratory Animals and Comparative Medicine, College of Animal Medicine, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin 150030, China
  • Received:2020-12-18 Online:2021-08-23 Published:2021-08-21

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of dexmedetomidine on ketamine induced nerve injury in developing rats and its possible mechanism. Seven-day-old SD rats were randomly divided into control groups; ketamine group (20 mg·kg-1 ketamine, i.p. once every 1.5 hours, 5 times); dexmedetomidine group (15 μg·kg-1 dexmedetomidine, i.p); ketamine + dexmedetomidine group (30 min before ketamine injection, 15 μg·kg-1 dexmedetomidine, i.p.). Ninety minutes after the last administration, the brain tissue was taken and fixed for Nissl staining; the contents of CAT, GSH, MDA, IL-1β and IL-18 in the hippocampus and cortical tissue were measured. The results of Nissl staining showed that pre-administration of dexmedetomidine could alleviate the loss of neurons in hippocampal CA1, CA3, and cortex caused by ketamine compared with the control group. Dexmedetomidine pretreatment could also significantly reduce (P<0.05) the levels of MDA, IL-1β and IL-18 in the hippocampus and cortex, and significantly increase (P<0.05) the content of CAT and GSH. The results of the study show that dexmedetomidine pretreatment can effectively reduce hippocampal and cortical MDA levels, increase CAT and GSH content, and inhibit the secretion of IL-1β and IL-18, and exert neuroprotection when ketamine-induced neurological damage in developmental rats.

Key words: ketamine, dexmedetomidine, developmental rats, cognitive dysfunction, oxidative stress

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