NMDA receptor blockade in cat dorsal horn blunts reflex pressor response to muscle contraction and stretch

1996 ◽  
Vol 270 (2) ◽  
pp. H500-H508 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. A. Hand ◽  
A. F. Meintjes ◽  
A. W. Keister ◽  
A. Ally ◽  
L. B. Wilson

The role of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors in the reflex pressor response to static muscle contraction and passive stretch was examined by microdialyzing the NMDA receptor antagonist DL-2-amino-5-phosphonovalerate (AP-5) into the L7 or L6 and S1 levels of the dorsal horn of anesthetized cats. Contraction, elicited by electrical stimulation of the cut L7 and S1 ventral roots, increased mean arterial pressure (MAP) and heart rate (HR). Passive stretch at tensions similar to those generated by contraction also increased these variables. These cardiovascular changes were unaffected by dialyzing AP-5 (10 mM) into the dorsal horn at L7. Increasing the syringe concentration of AP-5 to 100 mM attenuated the pressor and HR responses from 62 +/- 8 to 31 +/- 6 mmHg and 18 +/- 4 to 12 +/- 4 beats/min, respectively. AP-5 blunted the increase in MAP (59 +/- 10 vs. 41 +/- 10 mmHg) evoked by muscle stretch. Simultaneously microdialyzing AP-5 (10 or 100 mM) into the dorsal horn at the L6 and S1 spinal levels also blunted the MAP and HR responses to contraction and stretch. These results suggest that NMDA receptors play a role in mediating the MAP and HR responses to static muscle contraction at the spinal level of the central nervous system. Furthermore, these data demonstrate that collaterals from muscle afferents partially mediate the reflex cardiovascular responses evoked by muscle contraction and stretch.

2004 ◽  
Vol 287 (3) ◽  
pp. H1312-H1318 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jianhua Li

It has been suggested that the midbrain periaqueductal gray (PAG) is a neural integrating site for the interaction between the muscle pressor reflex and the arterial baroreceptor reflex. The underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. The purpose of this study was to examine the roles of GABA and nitric oxide (NO) in modulating the PAG integration of both reflexes. To activate muscle afferents, static contraction of the triceps surae muscle was evoked by electrical stimulation of the L7 and S1 ventral roots of 18 anesthetized cats. In the first group of experiments ( n = 6), the pressor response to muscle contraction was attenuated by bilateral microinjection of muscimol (a GABA receptor agonist) into the lateral PAG [change in mean arterial pressure (ΔMAP) = 24 ± 5 vs. 46 ± 8 mmHg in control]. Conversely, the pressor response was significantly augmented by 0.1 mM bicuculline, a GABAA receptor antagonist (ΔMAP = 65 ± 10 mmHg). In addition, the effect of GABAA receptor blockade on the reflex response was significantly blunted after sinoaortic denervation and vagotomy ( n = 4). In the second group of experiments ( n = 8), the pressor response to contraction was significantly attenuated by microinjection of l-arginine into the lateral PAG (ΔMAP = 26 ± 4 mmHg after l-arginine injection vs. 45 ± 7 mmHg in control). The effect of NO attenuation was antagonized by bicuculline and was reduced after denervation. These data demonstrate that GABA and NO within the PAG modulate the pressor response to muscle contraction and that NO attenuation of the muscle pressor reflex is mediated via arterial baroreflex-engaged GABA increase. The results suggest that the PAG plays an important role in modulating cardiovascular responses when muscle afferents are activated.


2001 ◽  
Vol 280 (5) ◽  
pp. H2371-H2379 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jianhua Li ◽  
Jeffrey T. Potts

We have previously shown that static muscle contraction induces the expression of c-Fos protein in neurons of the nucleus tractus solitarii (NTS) and that some of these cells were codistributed with neuronal NADPH-diaphorase [nitric oxide (NO) synthase]-positive fibers. In the present study, we sought to determine the role of NO in the NTS in mediating the cardiovascular responses elicited by skeletal muscle afferent fibers. Static contraction of the triceps surae muscle was induced by electrical stimulation of the L7 and S1 ventral roots in anesthetized cats. Muscle contraction during microdialysis of artificial extracellular fluid increased mean arterial pressure (MAP) and heart rate (HR) 51 ± 9 mmHg and 18 ± 3 beats/min, respectively. Microdialysis ofl-arginine (10 mM) into the NTS to locally increase NO formation attenuated the increases in MAP (30 ± 7 mmHg, P < 0.05) and HR (14 ± 2 beats/min, P > 0.05) during contraction. Microdialysis ofd-arginine (10 mM) did not alter the cardiovascular responses evoked by muscle contraction. Microdialysis of N G-nitro-l-arginine methyl ester (2 mM) during contraction attenuated the effects ofl-arginine on the reflex cardiovascular responses. These findings demonstrate that an increase in NO formation in the NTS attenuates the pressor response to static muscle contraction, indicating that the NO system plays a role in mediating the cardiovascular responses to static muscle contraction in the NTS.


2005 ◽  
Vol 288 (5) ◽  
pp. H2238-H2243 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhaohui Gao ◽  
Valerie Kehoe ◽  
Lawrence I. Sinoway ◽  
Jianhua Li

Static contraction of skeletal muscle evokes increases in blood pressure and heart rate. Previous studies suggested that the dorsal horn of the spinal cord is the first synaptic site responsible for those cardiovascular responses. In this study, we examined the role of ATP-sensitive P2X receptors in the cardiovascular responses to contraction by microdialyzing the P2X receptor antagonist pyridoxal phosphate-6-azophenyl-2′,4′-disulfonic acid (PPADS) into the L7 level of the dorsal horn of nine anesthetized cats. Contraction was elicited by electrical stimulation of the L7 and S1 ventral roots. Blockade of P2X receptor attenuated the contraction induced-pressor response [change in mean arterial pressure (ΔMAP): 16 ± 4 mmHg after 10 mM PPADS vs. 42 ± 8 mmHg in control; P < 0.05]. In addition, the pressor response to muscle stretch was also blunted by PPADS (ΔMAP: 27 ± 5 mmHg after PPADS vs. 49 ± 8 mmHg in control; P < 0.05). Finally, activation of P2X receptor by microdialyzing 0.5 mM α,β-methylene into the dorsal horn significantly augmented the pressor response to contraction. This effect was antagonized by prior PPADS dialysis. These data demonstrate that blockade of P2X receptors in the dorsal horn attenuates the pressor response to activation of muscle afferents and that stimulation of P2X receptors enhances the reflex response, indicating that P2X receptors play a role in mediating the muscle pressor reflex at the first synaptic site of this reflex.


2011 ◽  
Vol 301 (2) ◽  
pp. R448-R455 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason Wright ◽  
Carlos Campos ◽  
Thiebaut Herzog ◽  
Mihai Covasa ◽  
Krzysztof Czaja ◽  
...  

Intraperitoneal injection of CCK reduces food intake and triggers a behavioral pattern similar to natural satiation. Reduction of food intake by CCK is mediated by vagal afferents that innervate the stomach and small intestine. These afferents synapse in the hindbrain nucleus of the solitary tract (NTS) where gastrointestinal satiation signals are processed. Previously, we demonstrated that intraperitoneal (IP) administration of either competitive or noncompetitive N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonists attenuates reduction of food intake by CCK. However, because vagal afferents themselves express NMDA receptors at both central and peripheral endings, our results did not speak to the question of whether NMDA receptors in the brain play an essential role in reduction of feeding by CCK. We hypothesized that activation of NMDA receptors in the NTS is necessary for reduction of food intake by CCK. To test this hypothesis, we measured food intake following IP CCK, subsequent to NMDA receptor antagonist injections into the fourth ventricle, directly into the NTS or subcutaneously. We found that either fourth-ventricle or NTS injection of the noncompetitive NMDA receptor antagonist MK-801 was sufficient to inhibit CCK-induced reduction of feeding, while the same antagonist doses injected subcutaneously did not. Similarly fourth ventricle injection of d-3-(2-carboxypiperazin-4-yl)-1-propenyl-1-phosphoric acid (d-CPPene), a competitive NMDA receptor antagonist, also blocked reduction of food intake following IP CCK. Finally, d-CPPene injected into the fourth ventricle attenuated CCK-induced expression of nuclear c-Fos immunoreactivity in the dorsal vagal complex. We conclude that activation of NMDA receptors in the hindbrain is necessary for the reduction of food intake by CCK. Hindbrain NMDA receptors could comprise a critical avenue for control and modulation of satiation signals to influence food intake and energy balance.


1997 ◽  
Vol 272 (1) ◽  
pp. E126-E132 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. F. Rossi ◽  
D. S. O'Leary ◽  
H. Chen

Endothelins (ET) within the central nervous system (CNS) alter systemic cardiovascular responses and arginine vasopressin (AVP) secretion. These experiments were designed to ascertain whether the rise in systemic arterial pressure after central administration of ET-1 is mediated by enhancing sympathetic outflow and/or circulating AVP. In Long-Evans (LE/LE) rats, intracerebroventricular injection of 1-10 pmol ET-1 dose dependently increased mean arterial pressure (MAP). Peak response occurred 7-12 min after ET-1 and was inhibited by ETA receptor antagonism. Systemic vasopressin (V1) receptor blockade did not inhibit the pressor response, and rats with central diabetes insipidus (DI/DI) displayed an identical rise in MAP. Ganglionic blockade prevented ET-1-induced hemodynamic effects. Peak plasma AVP levels occurred 60 min after ET-1, as the pressor response began to wane. In sinoaortic-denervated LE/LE rats, ET-1 elicited a 10-fold increase in AVP secretion that coincided with the hemodynamic changes and was blocked by BQ-123. Thus ET-1 via ETA receptors within the CNS induced a concentration-dependent increase in systemic arterial pressure mediated by enhanced sympathetic outflow but not by circulating AVP. Reflex baroreceptor activation attenuated AVP release.


2001 ◽  
Vol 90 (1) ◽  
pp. 308-316 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. G. Leshnower ◽  
J. T. Potts ◽  
M. G. Garry ◽  
J. H. Mitchell

It is well known that the exercise pressor reflex (EPR) is mediated by group III and IV skeletal muscle afferent fibers, which exhibit unique discharge responses to mechanical and chemical stimuli. Based on the difference in discharge patterns of group III and IV muscle afferents, we hypothesized that activation of mechanically sensitive (MS) fibers would evoke a different pattern of cardiovascular responses compared with activation of both MS and chemosensitive (CS) fibers. Experiments were conducted in chloralose-urethane-anesthetized cats ( n = 10). Passive muscle stretch was used to activate MS afferents, and electrically evoked contraction of the triceps surae was used to activate both MS and CS muscle afferents. No significant differences were shown in reflex heart rate and mean arterial pressure (MAP) responses between passive muscle stretch and evoked muscle contraction. However, when the reflex responses were matched according to tension-time index (TTI), the peak MAP response (67 ± 4 vs. 56 ± 4 mmHg, P < 0.05) was significantly greater at higher TTI (427 ± 18 vs. 304 ± 13 kg · s, high vs. low TTI, P < 0.05), despite different modes of afferent fiber activation. When the same mode of afferent fiber activation was compared, the peak MAP response (65 ± 7 vs. 55 ± 5 mmHg, P < 0.05) was again predicted by the magnitude of TTI (422 ± 24 vs. 298 ± 19 kg · s, high vs. low TTI, P < 0.05). Total sensory input from skeletal muscle ergoreceptors, as predicted by TTI and not the modality of afferent fiber activation (muscle contraction vs. passive stretch), is suggested to be the primary determinant of the magnitude of the EPR-evoked cardiovascular response.


2004 ◽  
Vol 286 (3) ◽  
pp. R451-R464 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hakan S. Orer ◽  
Gerard L. Gebber ◽  
Shaun W. Phillips ◽  
Susan M. Barman

We tested the hypothesis that blockade of N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) and non-NMDA receptors on medullary lateral tegmental field (LTF) neurons would reduce the sympathoexcitatory responses elicited by electrical stimulation of vagal, trigeminal, and sciatic afferents, posterior hypothalamus, and midbrain periaqueductal gray as well as by activation of arterial chemoreceptors with intravenous NaCN. Bilateral microinjection of a non-NMDA receptor antagonist into LTF of urethane-anesthetized cats significantly decreased vagal afferent-evoked excitatory responses in inferior cardiac and vertebral nerves to 29 ± 8 and 24 ± 6% of control ( n = 7), respectively. Likewise, blockade of non-NMDA receptors significantly reduced chemoreceptor reflex-induced increases in inferior cardiac (from 210 ± 22 to 129 ± 13% of control; n = 4) and vertebral nerves (from 253 ± 41 to 154 ± 20% of control; n = 7) and mean arterial pressure (from 39 ± 7 to 21 ± 5 mmHg; n = 8). Microinjection of muscimol, but not an NMDA receptor antagonist, caused similar attenuation of these excitatory responses. Sympathoexcitatory responses to the other stimuli were not attenuated by microinjection of a non-NMDA receptor antagonist or muscimol into LTF. In fact, excitatory responses elicited by stimulation of trigeminal, and in some cases sciatic, afferents were enhanced. These data reveal two new roles for the LTF in control of sympathetic nerve activity in cats. One, LTF neurons are involved in mediating sympathoexcitation elicited by activation of vagal afferents and arterial chemoreceptors, primarily via activation of non-NMDA receptors. Two, non-NMDA receptor-mediated activation of other LTF neurons tonically suppresses transmission in trigeminal-sympathetic and sciatic-sympathetic reflex pathways.


2002 ◽  
Vol 87 (5) ◽  
pp. 2324-2336 ◽  
Author(s):  
Long Chen ◽  
Charles R. Yang

The atypical antipsychotic drug clozapine effectively alleviates both negative and positive symptoms of schizophrenia via unclear cellular mechanisms. Clozapine may modulate both glutamatergic and dopaminergic transmission in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) to achieve part of its therapeutic actions. Using whole cell patch-clamp techniques, current-clamp recordings in layers V–VI pyramidal neurons from rat PFC slices showed that stimulation of local afferents (in 2 μM bicuculline) evoked mixed [AMPA/kainate and N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptors] glutamate receptor-mediated excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs). Clozapine (1 μM) potentiated polysynaptically mediated evoked EPSPs ( V Hold = −65 mV), or reversed EPSPs (rEPSP, V Hold = +20 mV) for >30 min. The potentiated EPSPs or rEPSPs were attenuated by elevating [Ca2+]O(7 mM), by application of NMDA receptor antagonist 2-amino5-phosphonovaleric acid (50 μM), or by pretreatment with dopamine D1/D5 receptor antagonist SCH23390 (1 μM) but could be further enhanced by a dopamine reuptake inhibitor bupropion (1 μM). Clozapine had no significant effect on pharmacologically isolated evoked NMDA-rEPSP or AMPA-rEPSPs but increased spontaneous EPSPs without changing the steady-state resting membrane potential. Under voltage clamp, clozapine (1 μM) enhanced the frequency, and the number of low-amplitude (5–10 pA) AMPA receptor-mediated spontaneous EPSCs, while there was no such changes with the mini-EPSCs (in 1 μM TTX). Taken together these data suggest that acute clozapine can increase spike-dependent presynaptic release of glutamate and dopamine. The glutamate stimulates distal dendritic AMPA receptors to increase spontaneous EPSCs and enabled a voltage-dependent activation of neuronal NMDA receptors. The dopamine released stimulates postsynaptic D1 receptor to modulate a lasting potentiation of the NMDA receptor component of the glutamatergic synaptic responses in the PFC neuronal network. This sequence of early synaptic events induced by acute clozapine may comprise part of the activity that leads to later cognitive improvement in schizophrenia.


2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas L. Schwartz ◽  
Umar A. Siddiqui ◽  
Shafi Raza

Objective. Glutamate, an excitatory neurotransmitter in the central nervous system (CNS), may play a role in the development of anxiety. Memantine partially blocks N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors' glutamate channels located in the CNS. This paper evaluates memantine as an augmentation therapy for treatment of anxiety.Methods. 15 consecutive partially responding anxious patients were treated with adjunctive memantine for 10 weeks. Memantine was dosed 5–20 mg/day.Result. Memantine augmentation resulted in clinically relevant reduction in anxiety symptoms when compared to baseline. Forty percent of patients achieved remission (HAM-A ≥ 7). Memantine improved sleep quality. Mean dose was 14 mg/d (range 5–20 mg/d). Typical adverse events included nausea and headache.Conclusion. The NMDA receptor antagonist memantine may be an effective augmentation therapy in patients with treatment-resistant anxiety.


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