Volatile anesthetic preconditioning present in the invertebrate Caenorhabditis elegans

Volatile anesthetics (VAs) have been found to induce a delayed protective response called preconditioning to subsequent hypoxic/ischemic injury. VA preconditioning has been primarily studied in canine and rodent heart. A more genetically tractable model of VA preconditioning would be extremely useful. Here, the authors report the development of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans as a model of VA preconditioning.

Wild-type and mutant C. elegans were exposed to isoflurane, halothane, or air under otherwise identical conditions. After varying recovery periods, the animals were challenged with hypoxic, azide, or hyperthermic incubations. After recovery from these incubations, mortality was scored.

Isoflurane- and halothane-preconditioned animals had significantly reduced mortality to all three types of injuries compared with air controls. Concentrations as low as 1 vol% isoflurane (0.64 mm) and halothane (0.71 mm) induced significant protection. The onset and duration of protection after anesthetic were 6 and 9 h, respectively. A mutation that blocks inhibition of neurotransmitter release by isoflurane did not attenuate the preconditioning effect. A loss-of-function mutation of the Apaf-1 homolog CED-4 blocked the preconditioning effect of isoflurane, but mutation of the downstream caspase CED-3 did not.

Volatile anesthetic preconditioning extends beyond the vertebrate subphylum. This markedly broadens the scope of VA preconditioning and suggests that its mechanisms are widespread across species and is a fundamental and evolutionarily conserved cellular response. C. elegans offers a means to dissect genetically the mechanism for VA preconditioning as illustrated by the novel finding of the requirement for the Apaf-1 homolog CED-4.