The Role of microRNA in Anaesthetics-induced Brain Injury: A Narrative Review.
Turkish journal of anaesthesiology and reanimation – May 08, 2025
Source: PubMed
Summary
Small molecules in our cells may hold the key to making anaesthesia safer for developing brains. Recent findings show that microRNAs play a crucial role in how anaesthetic agents affect brain cells, particularly in young children. These molecules can either protect neurons or contribute to their damage. Understanding their function helps doctors develop safer anaesthesia protocols and protect vulnerable patients from neurotoxicity.
Abstract
Anaesthetics are commonly used agents during medical interventions and surgeries. Exposure to anaesthetic agents in late intrauterine life or early childhood may cause neurodegeneration in developing brains. Neuroapoptosis and neural inhibition provided by several mechanisms and microRNAs (miRNAs) have crucial roles in this milieu. miRNAs have critical roles in response to anaesthetic exposure. Through this review, we performed a systematic search of the PubMed database for studies on the role of anaesthetics in the brain and their relation with miRNAs. The terms "anesthetic", "miRNA", and "brain" were searched. Here we summarized the roles and interactions of miRNAs under exposure to anaesthetics in vivo and in vitro studies. Anaesthetic agents studied included sevoflurane, isoflurane, ketamine, and propofol. Many microRNAs were identified to have regulatory roles in anaesthesia-induced neurotoxicity. The literature study supports the idea that miRNAs play crucial functions in neuroprotection and neurotoxicity in anaesthesia administration. The exact role and implication of miRNA in anaesthesia neurotoxicity needs to be elucidated to gain more knowledge about the area. Several gaps in knowledge should be filled by conducting basic, clinical, and translational analyses in the future to decipher the definite role of miRNAs and their functions in the context of anaesthesia-induced neurotoxicity.