Research Paper Volume 12, Issue 8 pp 7262—7281
Autophagy prevents hippocampal α-synuclein oligomerization and early cognitive dysfunction after anesthesia/surgery in aged rats
Figure 2. The effects of propofol anesthesia with or without surgery on autophagy-related protein, total α-synuclein and α-synuclein oligomer levels in aged rats. (A) Representative immunoblots illustrating autophagy-related protein levels in the hippocampus on days 1, 3 and 7 after propofol anesthesia. (B) Propofol (4 h) reduced LC3B expression in the hippocampus on days 1 and 3 post-anesthesia. (C) Propofol (4 h) reduced Beclin-1 expression in the hippocampus on days 1 and 3 post-anesthesia. (D) Propofol (4 h) increased p62 expression in the hippocampus on days 1, 3 and 7 post-anesthesia. (E) Representative immunoblots illustrating total α-synuclein (α-Syn) and α-synuclein oligomer levels in the hippocampus on days 1, 3 and 7 after propofol anesthesia. (F) Propofol did not alter total α-synuclein expression. (G, H) Propofol (4 h) elevated α-synuclein oligomer expression in both synaptosomes and SDS-solubilized fractions. (I) Representative immunoblots illustrating autophagy-related protein levels in the hippocampus on days 1, 3 and 7 after propofol anesthesia (2 h) and surgery. (J) Propofol anesthesia and surgery reduced LC3B expression in the hippocampus. (K) Propofol anesthesia and surgery reduced Beclin-1 expression in the hippocampus. (L) Propofol anesthesia and surgery increased p62 expression in the hippocampus. (M) Representative immunoblots illustrating total α-synuclein and α-synuclein oligomer levels in the hippocampus on days 1, 3 and 7 after propofol anesthesia (2 h) and surgery. (N) Propofol anesthesia and surgery did not significantly alter total α-synuclein expression. (O) Propofol anesthesia and surgery elevated α-synuclein oligomer levels in hippocampal synaptosomes. (P) Propofol anesthesia and surgery elevated α-synuclein oligomer levels in SDS-solubilized hippocampal samples. Values are expressed as the mean ± SEM (n = 6 per group). *p < 0.05 and **p < 0.01 versus control rats. CON: the control group, PRO2: the 2-h propofol group, PRO4: the 4-h propofol group, PRO2S: the 2-h propofol anesthesia + surgery group.