Prenatal cigarette smoke (CS) exposure causes numerous respiratory health problems in infants. This study aimed to investigate the effect of prenatal CS exposure on sevoflurane-induced respiratory suppression in neonatal rats and the protective role of H₂S. We found that at baseline, minute ventilation (V’_E), respiratory frequency (f_R), and tidal volume (V_T) were similar among tested groups, whereas sigh frequency (f_S) was lower in CS group than in the Control group. During 3 % sevoflurane anesthesia, V’_E was decreased, f_R was slowed, V_T was increased, and f_S was reduced in all groups; however, the decline in f_R and increase in V_T was greater in CS group than in the Control group. During the recovery, f_S remained lower in CS group. The above changes of respiratory response caused by prenatal CS exposure were alleviated by NaHS pretreatment (a donor of H₂S, 56 μmol/kg/d, intraperitoneal injection). These results indicated that prenatal CS exposure alters the breathing into a much slower and deeper manner in neonatal rats during sevoflurane anesthesia, and H₂S mitigates this respiratory change.

产前香烟烟雾 (CS) 暴露会导致婴儿出现许多呼吸系统健康问题。本研究旨在探讨产前 CS 暴露对七氟醚诱导的新生大鼠呼吸抑制的影响以及 H ₂ S的保护作用。我们发现在基线时，每分钟通气量 ( V' _E )、呼吸频率 ( f _R )、和潮气量 ( V _T ) 在测试组之间相似，而CS 组的叹息频率 ( f _S ) 低于对照组。在 3 % 七氟醚麻醉期间，V' _E降低，f _R减慢，V _T增加，f _S在所有组中都减少；然而，与对照组相比，CS 组f _R的下降和V _{T 的}增加更大。在恢复期间，CS 组的f _S保持较低。上述产前CS暴露引起的呼吸反应变化通过NaHS预处理（H ₂ S供体，56 μmol/kg/d，腹腔注射）得到缓解。这些结果表明，在七氟醚麻醉期间，产前 CS 暴露使新生大鼠的呼吸变得更慢和更深，而 H ₂ S 减轻了这种呼吸变化。