Effect of chloride transport blockade on the MAC of halothane in the rat

There is a growing evidence that central nervous system chloride transport via gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABAA) related Cl- conductance or Cl-/HCO3- exchange affects anesthetic requirements. To delineate the effects of GABAA-related Cl- conductance blockade versus Cl-/HCO3- exchange inhibition, we determined the change in minimum alveolar anesthetic concentration (MAC) of halothane in rats after intracisternal infusion of 4,4'-diisothiocyano-2,2'-disulfonic acid stilbene (DIDS). DIDS inhibits Cl-/HCO3- exchange transport in concentrations greater than 1 microM and in GABAA-related Cl- channels in concentrations greater than 0.1 mM. After control MAC determination, rats were given intracisternal mock cerebrospinal fluid (n = 6), 1.0 microM DIDS (n = 8), or 1 mM DIDS (n = 8) at a rate of 2 microL/min for 30 min. Mock cerebrospinal fluid did not change the MAC of halothane. The MAC of halothane increased significantly (P less than 0.001) from 0.96% +/- 0.02% to 1.11% +/- 0.03% (mean value +/- SEM) with 1 microM DIDS and from 0.94% +/- 0.02% to 1.16% +/- 0.04% with 1 mM DIDS. The increases in MAC with 1 microM and 1 mM DIDS were not statistically different. This suggests that Cl-/HCO3- exchange inhibition increases halothane requirements, whereas GABAA-related Cl- channel blockade does not.