Desflurane accelerates neuronal cytotoxicity of Aβ by downregulating miR-214

Since more and more evidence suggests anesthetics serve as a risk factor of Alzheimer's disease (AD), we examine the neurotoxicity of a commonly used inhalational anesthetics, desflurane, and its potential toxicity mechanism in primary rat hippocampal neurons. Here we show that desflurane increase the cytotoxicity of intracellular and extracellular amyloid 13 (A beta) in the presence or absence of serum. It is also demonstrated that the cytotoxicity of desflurane is caused by the reduction of miR-214 which binds to Bax 3'UTR and results in the increased expression of Bax. Therefore, we conclude that desflurane accelerates neuronal cytotoxicity of A beta by downregulating miR-214. Our study sheds a light on the therapy of cytotoxicity induced by inhaled anesthetics, especially in patients of AD. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.