Event Abstract Back to Event Propofol enhances GABA- and glycinergic transmission in hemisected spinal cord preparation. Bence Farkas1*, László Fodor1, Istvan Tarnawa1 and Gabor Maksay2 1 Pharmacology and Drug Safety Research, Gedeon Richter Plc., Hungary 2 Department of Molecular Pharmacology, Institute of Biomolecular Chemistry, HAS, Hungary The spinal mechanism of action of propofol (2,6-diisopropylphenol), a clinical anaesthetic with rapid onset, has not been entirely elucidated. We investigated the effect of propofol on presynaptic and postsynaptic inhibition of the spinal segmental reflex, in vitro. Hemisected spinal cords were isolated from 6-day-old rat pups. Ventral root reflex responses were recorded from the L5 ventral root following the stimulation of the ipsilateral dorsal root. Propofol inhibited both early (monosynaptic, MSR)- and late (excitatory postsynaptic, EPSP) components of the reflex potential dose-dependently (IC50s: 42 and 56 μM, respectively). Following blockade of A-type receptors of GABA with 10 μM bicuculline, the inhibitory potency of propofol for MSR decreased considerably (IC50=192 μM), while for EPSP it changed only slightly (IC50=64 μM). Strychnine (10 μM), by depressing glycinergic inhibition, decreased the potency of propofol for MSR, while increased it for EPSP (IC50s: 61 μM and 25 μM, respectively). Application of glycine (500 µM) hardly affected the IC50s of propofol (34 μM for MSR and 46 μM for EPSP). Following simultaneous blockade of both GABA- and glycinergic transmission, 100 μM propofol did not influence MSR, but further inhibited EPSP by 50%. In conclusion, glycinergic mechanisms seem less important than GABA-ergic inhibition in the mediation of monosynaptic component of the spinal ventral root reflex responses. However, these two inhibitory mechanisms are roughly equivalent in the mediation of EPSP reflex components. Conference: 12th Meeting of the Hungarian Neuroscience Society, Budapest, Hungary, 22 Jan - 24 Jan, 2009. Presentation Type: Poster Presentation Topic: Developmental neurobiology and subcortical functions Citation: Farkas B, Fodor L, Tarnawa I and Maksay G (2009). Propofol enhances GABA- and glycinergic transmission in hemisected spinal cord preparation.. Front. Syst. Neurosci. Conference Abstract: 12th Meeting of the Hungarian Neuroscience Society. doi: 10.3389/conf.neuro.01.2009.04.053 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 27 Feb 2009; Published Online: 27 Feb 2009. * Correspondence: Bence Farkas, Pharmacology and Drug Safety Research, Gedeon Richter Plc., Budapest, Hungary, b.farkas@richter.hu Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Bence Farkas László Fodor Istvan Tarnawa Gabor Maksay Google Bence Farkas László Fodor Istvan Tarnawa Gabor Maksay Google Scholar Bence Farkas László Fodor Istvan Tarnawa Gabor Maksay PubMed Bence Farkas László Fodor Istvan Tarnawa Gabor Maksay Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.