Effects of anesthetics on mitochondrial signaling and function.

Mitochondria are considered the powerhouses of the cell playing an important role in energy metabolism. However, they are highly vulnerable to inhibition or uncoupling of the energy harnessing process and run a high risk of causing catastrophic damage to the cell. Several anesthetics or drugs commonly given during anesthesia interact with mitochondria and affect their structure or impair respiratory chain functioning with decreased ATP production. Mitochondria, in fact, are a potential site of action of general and local anesthetics. The purpose of this review is to update present knowledge and describe the effects and molecular mechanisms of the action of the most used drugs of anesthesia on mitochondria.