Objective To explore the effect of dexmedetomidine(Dex)on sevoflurane-induced cognitive impairment in neonatal rats through Wnt signaling pathway. Methods Sixty 7-day-old SD rats were assigned into five groups:control group(without any intervention),Dex group(intraperitoneal injection of 25 μg/kg Dex),sevoflurane group(3% sevoflurane treatment for 4 hours),sevoflurane+Dex group(inhalation of 3% sevoflurane after injection of 25 μg/kg Dex for 4 hours),and sevoflurane+Dex+Wnt inhibitor group(Wnt inhibitor XAV393 and 25 μg/kg Dex were injected and 3% sevoflurane was inhaled for 4 hours).Three weeks later,Morris water maze was used to detect the cognitive function;TdT-mediated dUTP nick end labeling(TUNEL)staining was performed to detect the apoptosis of hippocampal neurons;neuronal nuclei (NeuN) staining was conducted to detect the survival of hippocampal neurons;Western blot was carried out to detect the expression of apoptosis-related proteins.The expression of the factors involved in Wnt/GSK-3β/β-catenin signaling pathway was detected by fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction,and Western blot. Results Compared with the control group,there was no significant difference in the escape latency of Dex group(t=0.304,P=0.768);the escape latency in sevoflurane group(t=5.823,P=0.002),sevoflurane+Dex group(t=3.188,P=0.010),and sevoflurane+Dex+Wnt inhibitor group(t=5.784,P=0.002)was significantly prolonged.Compared with that in the sevoflurane group,the escape latency in sevoflurane+Dex group(t=3.646,P=0.005)was significantly shortened.Compared with that in sevoflurane+Dex group,the escape latency in sevoflurane+Dex+Wnt inhibitor group(t=3.296,P=0.008)was prolonged.Compared with that in the control group,the times of crossing platform in sevoflurane group(t=5.179, P=0.004),sevoflurane+Dex group(t=2.309,P=0.043),and sevoflurane+Dex+Wnt inhibitor group(t=3.871, P=0.003)decreased.Compared with that in sevoflurane group,the times of crossing platform in sevoflurane+Dex group(t=3.296,P=0.008)significantly increased.Compared with that in sevoflurane+Dex group,the times of crossing platform in sevoflurane+Dex+Wnt inhibitor group(t=2.361, P=0.041)reduced.Compared with the control group,there was no significant difference in the number of apoptotic cells in Dex group(t=1.920,P=0.127),and the number of apoptotic cells in sevoflurane group,sevoflurane+Dex group,and sevoflurane+Dex+Wnt inhibitor group increased by 16%(t=13.436,P=0.002),5%(t=7.752, P=0.001),and 11.5%(t=12.612,P=0.002),respectively.Compared with that in the sevoflurane group,the number of apoptotic cells in sevoflurane+Dex group and sevoflurane+Dex+Wnt inhibitor group decreased by 11%(t=8.521,P=0.002)and 5.5%(t=3.123,P=0.036),respectively.Compared with that in the sevoflurane+Dex group,the number of apoptotic cells in sevoflurane+Dex+Wnt inhibitor group increased by 6.5%(t=6.250,P=0.003).Compared with that in the control group,the number of positive cells in 0.15 mm
Animals ; Animals, Newborn ; Cognitive Dysfunction/chemically induced* ; Dexmedetomidine/pharmacology* ; Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 beta ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Sevoflurane/toxicity* ; Wnt Signaling Pathway ; beta Catenin/metabolism*