Long-term exposure to local but not inhalation anesthetics affects neurite regeneration and synapse formation between identified lymnaea neurons.

BACKGROUND: General and local anesthetics are used in various combinations during surgical procedures to repair damaged tissues and organs, which in almost all instances involve nervous system functions. Because synaptic transmission recovers rapidly from various inhalation anesthetics, it is generally assumed that their effects on nerve regeneration and synapse formation that precede injury or surgery may not be as detrimental as that of their local counterparts. However, a direct comparison of most commonly used inhalation (sevoflurane, isoflurane) and local anesthetics (lidocaine, bupivacaine), vis-a-vis their effects on synapse transmission, neurite regeneration, and synapse formation has not yet been performed.
METHODS: In this study, using cell culture, electrophysiologic and imaging techniques on unequivocally identified presynaptic and postsynaptic neurons from the mollusc Lymnaea, the authors provided a comparative account of the effects of both general and local anesthetics on synaptic transmission, nerve regeneration, and synapse formation between cultured neurons.
RESULTS: The data show that clinically used concentrations of both inhalation and local anesthetics affect synaptic transmission in a concentration-dependent and reversal manner. The authors provided the first direct evidence that long-term overnight treatment of cultured neurons with sevoflurane and isoflurane does not affect neurite regeneration, whereas both lidocaine and bupivacaine suppress neurite outgrowth completely. The soma-soma synapse model was then used to compare the effects of both types of agents on synapse formation. The authors found that local but not inhalation anesthetics drastically reduced the incidence of synapse formation. The local anesthetic-induced prevention of synapse formation most likely involved the failure of presynaptic machinery, which otherwise developed normally in the presence of both sevoflurane and isoflurane.
CONCLUSION: This study thus provides the first comparative, albeit preclinical, account of the effects of both general and local anesthetics on synaptic transmission, nerve regeneration, and synapse formation and demonstrates that clinically used lidocaine and bupivacaine have drastic long-term effects on neurite regeneration and synapse formation as compared with sevoflurane and isoflurane.