Arabian Journal of Chemistry (Feb 2021)

Elucidating the interaction of propofol as an intravenous anesthetic drug with blood components: IgG and peripheral blood mononuclear cell as targets

  • Yanlin Sun,
  • Hao Wang,
  • Hui Li

Journal volume & issue
Vol. 14, no. 2
p. 102965

Abstract

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Propofol is known as an intravenous anesthetic drug utilized for stimulation and prolongation of general anesthesia. However, the side effects of propofol are still elusive in the blood system. Therefore, in this study the interaction of propofol with immunoglobulin G (IgG) and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) as a model of blood system was explored by different spectroscopic, theoretical, cellular and molecular assays. The UV–Vis, intrinsic/ANS/synchronous fluorescence spectroscopic studies indicated the static quenching of IgG and corresponding protein unfolding in the presence of propofol. Far- and near-circular dichroism (CD) study further demonstrated that the structure of IgG was unfolded after interaction with propofol. Molecular docking study indicated that formation of IgG-propofol complex occurs through involvement of hydrogen bonding and van der Waals forces. Moreover, the cellular assay determined that propofol led to an increase in the cell mortality, membrane leakage, upregulation of intracellular ROS, elevation of Caspase-3 and -9 protein levels, and overexpression of Bax/Bcl-2 mRNA ratio, in PBMCs. This paper may pave the way for exploring the nature of the reaction and side effects between propofol and the biological system.

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