Anesthesiology
-
Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) plays a prominent role in neuroprotection against perinatal brain injury. Dexmedetomidine, a selective agonist of α2-adrenergic receptors, also provides neuroprotection against glutamate-induced damage. Because adrenergic receptor agonists can modulate BDNF expression, our goal was to examine whether dexmedetomidine's neuroprotective effects are mediated by BDNF modulation in mouse perinatal brain injury. ⋯ These results suggest that dexmedetomidine increased astrocyte expression of BDNF through an extracellular signal-regulated kinase-dependent pathway, inducing subsequent neuroprotective effects.