Abstract: Objective To investigate the effect of propofol on the expression of thrombospondin-1 (THBS-1) mRNA and protein
in purified newborn rat cortical astrocytes in vitro. Methods Astrocytes were isolated from newborn rat cortex and grown in
culture before exposure to propofol at 3, 10, 30, 100 or 300 μmol/L for 6 h, 12, or 24 h. The mRNA level of THBS-1 was detected
by RT-PCR, and the protein level of THBS-1 was detected by immunofluorescence cytochemistry and Western blotting.
Results Propofol exposure caused significantly upregulated THBS-1 level in cultured astrocytess (P<0.05) to a level about 1.3
times higher than that in control cells. The mRNA and protein levels of THBS-1 in cultured rat cortical astrocytes were
upregulated by exposures to 10, 30 and 100 μmol/L propofol (P<0.01). High expression of THBS-1 mRNA and protein was
detected in the cells with exposures for different durations (P<0.05), especially in the 12 h group (P<0.01). Conclusion Propofol
at clinically relevant concentrations can modulate the level of THBS-1 secreted by astrocytes of rat cerebral cortex in vitro.