Effects of propofol on ERK1,ERK2 phosphorylation and ERK2 mRNA expression in hippocampus in rats

Objective To investigate the effects of propofol on extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1(ERK1),ERK2 phosphorylation and ERK2 mRNA expression in the hippocampus in rats.Methods Sixty four male SD rats were randomly divided into 2 groups of P given propofol 9 mg/kg intraperitoneally 15 min before training.and S given normal saline as the control.All animals received a training for avoiding darkness.The times of trial to obtain learning criterion in 100 seconds were recorded.The memory retention and latency were recorded at 0 h(T0),1 h(T1),3 h(T2) and 24 h(T3) after the training.Hippocampus was also obtained at T0-T3 for determination of phosphorylation ERK1(p-ERK1),p-ERK2 and ERK2 mRNA expression.Results Compared with group S,the times of trial to obtain learning criterion were significantly increased,memory latency was shortened at T2,T3ERK1 phosphorylation was decreased at T2,T3ERK2 phosphorylation was decreased at T0-T3,and ERK2 mRNA expression was decreased at T3 in group P(P0.01).Conclusion Propofol can inhibit ERK1 and ERK2 phosphorylation and down-regulate ERK2 mRNA expression in the hippocampus in rats.