Postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) is a common complication after surgery, especially for elderly patients. Administration of
RNase has been reported to exhibit
neuroprotective effects in
acute stroke. However, the potential role of
RNase on POCD is unknown. Therefore, we sought to investigate whether
RNase treatment could mitigate unilateral
nephrectomy induced-cognitive deficit in aged mice. In the present study, twelve-month-old mice were administered
RNase or an equal amount of
normal saline perioperatively. All mice underwent Morris Water Maze (MWM) training 3 times per day for 7 days to acclimatize them to the water maze before surgical operation, and testing on days 1, 3 and 7 after surgery. We found that perioperative administration of
RNase: 1) attenuated unilateral
nephrectomy-induced
cognitive impairment at day 3 after surgery; 2) reduced the hippocampal
cytokines mRNA production and serum
cytokines protein production at day 1 and day 7 (for MCP-1) after surgery, and; 3) inhibited hippocampal apoptosis as indicated by cleaved
caspase-3 western blot and TUNEL staining at day 1 after surgery. In addition, a trend decrease of total serum
RNA levels was detected in the
RNase treated group after surgery compared with the untreated group. Further, our protocol of
RNase administration had no impact on the arterial blood gas analysis right after surgery, kidney function and mortality rate at the observed days postoperatively. In conclusion, perioperative
RNase treatment attenuated unilateral
nephrectomy-induced
cognitive impairment in aged mice.