GRIN2B alleviates mid-gestational sevoflurane exposure-induced early differentiation of rat neural stem cells by interacting with KIF17.

General anesthetic exposure during pregnancy has neurotoxic effects on the developing brain, causing long-term cognitive dysfunction in the offspring. Sevoflurane exposure during mid-gestation results in premature differentiation of neural stem cells (NSCs), being the crucial factor affecting normal hippocampal functions and contributing to neurocognitive impairment. However, the related molecular mechanism remains unclear. For in vivo assays, pregnant rats were exposed to 3% sevoflurane once on gestational day 14 (G14) or 3 times on G13, 14, and 15 (2 h per day). For in vitro assays, primary rat NSCs were isolated from fetal hippocampus tissues at 24 and 72 h after birth and on postnatal day 28. NSCs were transfected with GRIN2B or KIF17 overexpression plasmids before exposure to 4.1% sevoflurane for one or three consecutive days (2 h per day). Multiple sevoflurane exposures during the mid-trimester triggered NSC premature differentiation and decreased GRIN2B and KIF17 expression in the hippocampus of offspring rats and primary rat NSCs. GRIN2B or KIF17 overexpression attenuated sevoflurane-induced NSC premature differentiation. GRIN2B interacted with KIF17, and KIF17 silencing reversed the inhibition of GRIN2B overexpression on NSC early differentiation. GRIN2B alleviates NSC premature differentiation induced by repeated mid-gestational sevoflurane exposure via interaction with KIF17.