Background: Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) are widely used in many fields such as wound repair, gene delivery, and microenvironment improvement. In some cases, BMSC transplantation requires long-term anesthesia. However, the effects of anesthetics on the characteristics of BMSCs are poorly understood.
Methods: In this study, we examined the effect of sevoflurane, a gas anesthetic drug most commonly used in children, on the proliferation, differentiation, and homing potential of BMSCs.
Results: Short-term (6 h) sevoflurane exposure had almost no effect on the proliferation, differentiation, and homing of BMSCs. However, long-term (24 h) sevoflurane exposure inhibited the proliferation of BMSCs, accelerated their differentiation into nerve cells, and inhibited their homing potential to damaged vascular endothelial cells and intact glioma cells.
Conclusion: Short-term anesthesia with sevoflurane as the main inducer is safe and harmless to BMSCs, but long-term sevoflurane exposure may reduce their repair potential. Therefore, because of the high proportion of BMSCs in children, the application of long-term anesthesia with sevoflurane should be cautious, or more suitable anesthetic drugs are needed.