PUBLICATION

N-acetylcysteine prevents ketamine-induced adverse effects on development, heart rate and monoaminergic neurons in zebrafish

Authors
Robinson, B., Dumas, M., Gu, Q., Kanungo, J.
ID
ZDB-PUB-180612-6
Date
2018
Source
Neuroscience letters   682: 56-61 (Journal)
Registered Authors
Keywords
5-HT, Developmental toxicity, Ketamine, N-acetyl cysteine, Tyrosine hydroxylase, Zebrafish
MeSH Terms
  • Acetylcysteine/pharmacology*
  • Anesthetics, Dissociative/toxicity
  • Animals
  • Biogenic Monoamines/antagonists & inhibitors*
  • Biogenic Monoamines/physiology
  • Dose-Response Relationship, Drug
  • Embryo, Nonmammalian/drug effects*
  • Embryo, Nonmammalian/physiology
  • Embryonic Development/drug effects
  • Embryonic Development/physiology
  • Free Radical Scavengers/pharmacology
  • Heart Rate/drug effects*
  • Heart Rate/physiology
  • Ketamine/toxicity*
  • Neurons/drug effects*
  • Neurons/physiology
  • Zebrafish
PubMed
29890257 Full text @ Neurosci. Lett.
Abstract
N-acetylcysteine, a precursor molecule of glutathione, is an antioxidant. Ketamine, a pediatric anesthetic, has been implicated in cardiotoxicity and neurotoxicity including modulation of monoaminergic systems in mammals and zebrafish. Here, we show that N-acetylcysteine prevents ketamine's adverse effects on development and monoaminergic neurons in zebrafish embryos. The effects of ketamine and N-acetylcysteine alone or in combination were measured on the heart rate, body length, brain serotonergic neurons and tyrosine hydroxylase-immunoreactive (TH-IR) neurons. In the absence of N-acetylcysteine, a concentration of ketamine that produces an internal embryo exposure level comparable to human anesthetic plasma concentrations significantly reduced heart rate and body length and those effects were prevented by N-acetylcysteine co-treatment. Ketamine also reduced the areas occupied by serotonergic neurons in the brain, whereas N-acetylcysteine co-exposure counteracted this effect. TH-IR neurons in the embryo brain and TH-IR cells in the trunk were significantly reduced with ketamine treatment, but not in the presence of N-acetylcysteine. In our continued search for compounds that can prevent ketamine toxicity, this study using specific endpoints of developmental toxicity, cardiotoxicity and neurotoxicity, demonstrates protective effects of N-acetylcysteine against ketamine's adverse effects. This is the first study that shows the protective effects of N-acetylcysteine on ketamine-induced developmental defects of monoaminergic neurons as observed in a whole organism.
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