Effects of aerosolized ketamine on the level of nitric oxide and nitric oxide synthetase in the lung tissue of rat with asthma

Objective: To explore the effects of aerosolized ketamine on the level of nitric oxide and nitric oxide synthetase in the lung tissue in rat asthma model. Methods: Forty SD rats were randomly assigned to five groups: control group （group N）, asthma model group （group A）, two pretreated groups of different concentrations of ketamine （group K1, K2） and dexamethasone group（group D） with eight rats in each group.The rats in group A were sensitized by injection of ovalbumin （OA） together with aluminum hydroxide and bordetella pertussis as adjuvants. Two weeks after the sensitization,aerosolized OA was used to cause asthma. The rats in group K1 and K2 were sensitized with OA as group A , and then exposed to aerosol of ketamine ,with the concentration of 25 g/L and 50 g/L respectively.Before using aerosolized OA,the rats in group D were exposed to aerosol of 0.01% dexamethasone .The level of NO2-/NO3- in lung tissues, inducible nitric oxide synthetase（iNOS） and constitute nitric oxide synthetase（cNOS） was measured in all groups. Results: The level of NO2-/NO3- and the activity of iNOS in lung tissues in group A were signiticantly higher than those in the other groups. The iNOS activity and the level of NO2-/NO3- in lung tissues were highly positively correlated. Conclusion: NO can induce airway hyperreactivity that may worsen asthma. Aerosolized ketamine can decrease the iNOS expression and reduce the level of NO in the lung tissue in rat asthma model.