Fig. 5. Western blot analysis showed poly-(adenosine diphosphate-ribose) polymerase (PARP) to be cleaved after neonatal exposure to volatile anesthetics. (A ) PARP (cleaved) antibody specificity recognized the 89-kDa cleaved PARP in the extracts from NIH/3T3 cells treated with staurosporine (1 μM) for 5 h to induce apoptosis, whereas it did not recognize cleaved PARP in the extract from staurosporine-untreated cells. The same band was seen in extract from brains of anesthesia (desflurane)-treated pups. (B ) Protein extracts from the forebrain of mice exposed to 4% or 8% desflurane (Des), 3% sevoflurane (Sevo), 2% isoflurane, (Iso) or control (Cont) for 3 h or 6 h were analyzed for cleaved PARP immunoreactivity. β-Actin reactivity was used as a protein loading control. (C–E ) Quantified cleaved PARP bands were normalized to β-actin. Comparisons of means between drugs were performed using a one-way ANOVA followed by Neuman-Keuls post hoc test (n = 6 mice for each). F and P values are presented below each panel. (C ) Comparison between control and 4% or 8% desflurane for 6 h. (D ) Comparison between control, 8% desflurane, 3% sevoflurane, and 2% isoflurane for 6 h. (E ) Comparison between control, 8% desflurane, 3% sevoflurane, and 2% isoflurane for 3 h. *P < 0.05 or ***P < 0.001 compared with controls. #P < 0.05 or ###P < 0.001.