Impaired hippocampal synaptic plasticity and NR2A/2B expression ratio in remifentanil withdrawal rats

Remifentanil is a kind of synthetic opioid which has gained wide clinical acceptance by anesthesiologists. In this study, we attempted to test whether withdrawal effects on learning mechanisms can be triggered by repeated low-dose remifentanil treatment. Male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were subjected to remifentanil (50μg/kgs.c.) twice per day at 12h intervals for 15 days. When the animals of remifentanil group were withdrawn from remifentanil at 10h after the last injection, changes in open field test, Morris water maze test (MWM) and synaptic efficacy were examined in each group. We demonstrated that repeated exposure to 50μg/kg remifentanil produced enhanced locomotor activity indicating that a remifentanil addiction animal model in rats was established. MWM results showed that exposure to remifentanil had no influence on the spatial cognition. After withdrawal of remifentanil rats showed impaired spatial cognition. In electrophysiology test, remifentanil group rats showed a trend for a rightward shift of input/output relationship and significant deficits in maintenance of STP and LTP. Immunohistochemistry results demonstrated increased NR2A/NR2B ratio that should be included depression of LTP. In the whole-cell patch-clamp recording, after elimination from remifentanil incubation, mEPSC frequency was down regulated in hippocampal CA1 neurons, indicating that basal synaptic transmission were affected by remifentanil withdrawal. Taken together, the current findings demonstrate that the remifentanil withdrawn rats exhibit obvious impairment of hippocampus-dependent memory and synaptic plasticity. Increased hippocampal NR2A/NR2B expression ratio and the changes of basal synaptic transmission may participate in the impairment of LTP.