Resveratrol alleviates learning and memory impairment in aged rats after general anesthesia with sevoflurane and nitrous oxide via SIRT1-p53 signaling pathway

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of resveratrol on learning and memory impairment in aged rats after general anesthesia with sevoflurane and nitrous oxide (N2O), and explore the potential mechanism. 18-month-old Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into anesthesia group (receiving 1.3% sevoflurane and 50% N2O for 4 hours) and control group. 48 hours after anesthesia, spatial learning and memory were tested by the Morris Water Maze experiment. The neurotoxicity and expression of silent information regulator 1 (SIRT1) in the hippocampus were measured. Moreover, the effect of resveratrol on spatial learning and memory after anesthesia in aged rats was also investigated. The results showed that general anesthesia triggered neuronal apoptosis and, subsequently, induced impairment of learning and memory ability. Neuronal apoptosis induced by anesthetics triggered endogenous SIRT1 expression. Moreover, the SIRT1 expression and p53 deacetylation was increased in rats pre-treated with resveratrol, which subsequently inhibited neuronal apoptosis and improved behavioral performance. In conclusion, our results demonstrated that general anesthesia with sevoflurane plus 50% N2O impaired learning and memory ability in aged rats, induced neuronal apoptosis and increased SIRT1 expression. Pretreatment with resveratrol improved the ability of learning and memory, inhibited neuronal apoptosis by increasing the expression of SIRT1 in aged rats after general anesthesia.