Aquaporin-4 knockout mice exhibit increased hypnotic susceptibility to ketamine

Abstract

Purpose: This study examines anesthetic/hypnotic effects of ketamine in AQP4 knockout (KO) and wild-type (WT) mice with the particular focus on neurotransmission. Materials and Methods: Ketamine (100 mg/kg) was intraperitoneally injected in 16 WT and 16 KO mice. The hypnotic potencies were evaluated by the loss of the righting reflex (LORR). The amino acids neurotransmitter levels in prefrontal cortex were measured by microdialysis. Results: This study demonstrated that AQP4 knockout significantly shortened the latency compared with WT mice (98.0 ± 4.2 vs. 138.1 ± 15.0 s, p