scholarly journals Role of the brain stem in tibial inhibition of the micturition reflex in cats

2015 ◽  
Vol 309 (3) ◽  
pp. F242-F250 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew C. Ferroni ◽  
Rick C. Slater ◽  
Bing Shen ◽  
Zhiying Xiao ◽  
Jicheng Wang ◽  
...  

This study examined the role of the brain stem in inhibition of bladder reflexes induced by tibial nerve stimulation (TNS) in α-chloralose-anesthetized decerebrate cats. Repeated cystometrograms (CMGs) were performed by infusing saline or 0.25% acetic acid (AA) to elicit normal or overactive bladder reflexes, respectively. TNS (5 or 30 Hz) at three times the threshold (3T) intensity for inducing toe movement was applied for 30 min between CMGs to induce post-TNS inhibition or applied during the CMGs to induce acute TNS inhibition. Inhibition was evident as an increase in bladder capacity without a change in amplitude of bladder contractions. TNS applied for 30 min between saline CMGs elicited prolonged (>2 h) poststimulation inhibition that significantly ( P < 0.05) increased bladder capacity to 30–60% above control; however, TNS did not produce this effect during AA irritation. TNS applied during CMGs at 5 Hz but not 30 Hz significantly ( P < 0.01) increased bladder capacity to 127.3 ± 6.1% of saline control or 187.6 ± 5.0% of AA control. During AA irritation, naloxone (an opioid receptor antagonist) administered intravenously (1 mg/kg) or directly to the surface of the rostral brain stem (300–900 μg) eliminated acute TNS inhibition and significantly ( P < 0.05) reduced bladder capacity to 62.8 ± 22.6% (intravenously) or 47.6 ± 25.5% (brain stem application). Results of this and previous studies indicate 1) forebrain circuitry rostral to the pons is not essential for TNS inhibition; and 2) opioid receptors in the brain stem have a critical role in TNS inhibition of overactive bladder reflexes but are not involved in inhibition of normal bladder reflexes.

2013 ◽  
Vol 305 (5) ◽  
pp. F663-F671 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zeyad Schwen ◽  
Yosuke Matsuta ◽  
Bing Shen ◽  
Jicheng Wang ◽  
James R. Roppolo ◽  
...  

In the present study, the role of 5-HT3 receptors in pudendal neuromodulation of bladder activity and its interaction with opioid receptors were investigated in anesthetized cats. The bladder was distended with either saline to induce normal bladder activity or with 0.25% acetic acid (AA) to induce bladder overactivity. Pudendal afferent nerves were activated by 5-Hz stimulation at multiples of the threshold (T) intensity for the induction of anal twitching. AA irritation significantly reduced bladder capacity to 16.5 ± 3.3% of saline control capacity, whereas pudendal nerve stimulation (PNS) at 1.5–2 and 3–4 T restored the capacity to 82.0 ± 12% ( P = 0.0001) and 98.6 ± 15% ( P < 0.0001), respectively. Cumulative doses (1–3 mg/kg iv) of ondansetron, a 5-HT3 receptor antagonist, eliminated low-intensity (1.5–2 T) PNS inhibition and reduced high-intensity (3–4 T) PNS inhibition of bladder overactivity. During saline distention, PNS at 1.5–2 and 3–4 T significantly increased bladder capacity to 173.2 ± 26.4% ( P = 0.036) and 193.2 ± 22.5% ( P = 0.008), respectively, of saline control capacity, but ondansetron (0.003–3 mg/kg iv) did not alter PNS inhibition. Ondansetron (0.1–3 mg/kg) also significantly ( P < 0.05) increased control bladder capacity (50–200%) during either AA irritation or saline distention. In both conditions, the effects of low- and high-intensity PNS were not significantly different. After ondansetron (3 mg/kg) treatment, naloxone (1 mg/kg iv) significantly ( P < 0.05) decreased control bladder capacity (40–70%) during either AA irritation or saline distention but failed to affect PNS inhibition. This study revealed that activation of 5-HT3 receptors has a role in PNS inhibition of bladder overactivity. It also indicated that 5-HT3 receptor antagonists might be useful for the treatment of overactive bladder symptoms.


1993 ◽  
Vol 265 (5) ◽  
pp. R1026-R1035 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Zhong ◽  
Z. S. Huang ◽  
G. L. Gebber ◽  
S. M. Barman

We tested the hypothesis that brain stem circuits normally generate a 2- to 6-Hz oscillation in sympathetic nerve discharge (SND). Experiments were performed on baroreceptor-denervated decerebrate cats and urethan-anesthetized rats in which renal or splanchnic SND was recorded along with field potentials (population activity) from sites in the rostral ventrolateral medulla, medullary raphe, or medullary lateral tegmental field. Our major findings were as follows. 1) Population activity recorded from the three medullary regions contained a 2- to 6-Hz oscillation. 2) The 2- to 6-Hz oscillation in population activity recorded from some medullary sites was correlated to that in SND. Peak coherence in the 2- to 6-Hz band approached a value of 1 in some cases. 3) Whereas cervical spinal cord transection abolished or markedly reduced SND, the 2- to 6-Hz oscillation in medullary activity was essentially unchanged. These results support the view that the 2- to 6-Hz oscillation in SND can be generated in the brain stem of cats and rats.


2015 ◽  
Vol 308 (1) ◽  
pp. R42-R49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc J. Rogers ◽  
Zhiying Xiao ◽  
Bing Shen ◽  
Jicheng Wang ◽  
Zeyad Schwen ◽  
...  

This study examined the role of β-adrenergic and opioid receptors in spinal reflex bladder activity and in the inhibition induced by pudendal nerve stimulation (PNS) or tibial nerve stimulation (TNS). Spinal reflex bladder contractions were induced by intravesical infusion of 0.25% acetic acid in α-chloralose-anesthetized cats after an acute spinal cord transection (SCT) at the thoracic T9/T10 level. PNS or TNS at 5 Hz was applied to inhibit these spinal reflex contractions at 2 and 4 times the threshold intensity (T) for inducing anal or toe twitch, respectively. During a cystrometrogram (CMG), PNS at 2T and 4T significantly ( P < 0.05) increased bladder capacity from 58.0 ± 4.7% to 85.8 ± 10.3% and 96.5 ± 10.7%, respectively, of saline control capacity, while TNS failed to inhibit spinal reflex bladder contractions. After administering propranolol (3 mg/kg iv, a β1/β2-adrenergic receptor antagonist), the effects of 2T and 4T PNS on bladder capacity were significantly ( P < 0.05) reduced to 64.5 ± 9.5% and 64.7 ± 7.3%, respectively, of the saline control capacity. However, the residual PNS inhibition (about 10% increase in capacity) was still statistically significant ( P < 0.05). Propranolol treatment also significantly ( P = 0.0019) increased the amplitude of bladder contractions but did not change the control bladder capacity. Naloxone (1 mg/kg iv, an opioid receptor antagonist) had no effect on either spinal reflex bladder contractions or PNS inhibition. At the end of experiments, hexamethonium (10 mg/kg iv, a ganglionic blocker) significantly ( P < 0.05) reduced the amplitude of the reflex bladder contractions. This study indicates an important role of β1/β2-adrenergic receptors in pudendal inhibition and spinal reflex bladder activity.


2020 ◽  
Vol 319 (1) ◽  
pp. R60-R68
Author(s):  
Erica L. Littlejohn ◽  
Stephanie Fedorchak ◽  
Carie R. Boychuk

In the central nervous system (CNS), nuclei of the brain stem play a critical role in the integration of peripheral sensory information and the regulation of autonomic output in mammalian physiology. The nucleus tractus solitarius of the brain stem acts as a relay center that receives peripheral sensory input from vagal afferents of the nodose ganglia, integrates information from within the brain stem and higher central centers, and then transmits autonomic efferent output through downstream premotor nuclei, such as the nucleus ambiguus, the dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus, and the rostral ventral lateral medulla. Although there is mounting evidence that sex and sex hormones modulate autonomic physiology at the level of the CNS, the mechanisms and neurocircuitry involved in producing these functional consequences are poorly understood. Of particular interest in this review is the role of estrogen, progesterone, and 5α-reductase-dependent neurosteroid metabolites of progesterone (e.g., allopregnanolone) in the modulation of neurotransmission within brain-stem autonomic neurocircuits. This review will discuss our understanding of the actions and mechanisms of estrogen, progesterone, and neurosteroids at the cellular level of brain-stem nuclei. Understanding the complex interaction between sex hormones and neural signaling plasticity of the autonomic nervous system is essential to elucidating the role of sex in overall physiology and disease.


1997 ◽  
Vol 17 (10) ◽  
pp. 1089-1096 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kazunori Toyoda ◽  
Kenichiro Fujii ◽  
Setsuro Ibayashi ◽  
Tetsuhiko Nagao ◽  
Takanari Kitazono ◽  
...  

We tested the hypothesis that nitric oxide (NO) plays a role in CBF autoregulation in the brain stem during hypotension. In anesthetized rats, local CBF to the brain stem was determined with laser-Doppler flowmetry, and diameters of the basilar artery and its branches were measured through an open cranial window during stepwise hemorrhagic hypotension. During topical application of 10−5 mol/L and 10−4 mol/L Nω-nitro-L-arginine (L-NNA), a nonselective inhibitor of nitric oxide synthase (NOS), CBF started to decrease at higher steps of mean arterial blood pressure in proportion to the concentration of L-NNA in stepwise hypotension (45 to 60 mm Hg in the 10−5 mol/L and 60 to 75 mm Hg in the 10−4 mol/L L-NNA group versus 30 to 45 mm Hg in the control group). Dilator response of the basilar artery to severe hypotension was significantly attenuated by topical application of L-NNA (maximum dilatation at 30 mm Hg: 16 ± 8% in the 10−5 mol/L and 12 ± 5% in the 10−4 mol/L L-NNA group versus 34 ± 4% in the control group), but that of the branches was similar between the control and L-NNA groups. Topical application of 10−5 mol/L 7-nitro indazole, a selective inhibitor of neuronal NOS, did not affect changes in CBF or vessel diameter through the entire pressure range. Thus, endothelial but not neuronal NO seems to take part in the regulation of CBF to the the brain stem during hypotension around the lower limits of CBF autoregulation. The role of NO in mediating dilatation in response to hypotension appears to be greater in large arteries than in small ones.


1992 ◽  
Vol 263 (6) ◽  
pp. R1235-R1240
Author(s):  
R. A. Cridland ◽  
N. W. Kasting

Previous investigations on the antipyretic properties of arginine vasopressin have used bacterial endotoxins or pyrogens to induce fever. Because these experimental models of fever fail to mimic all aspects of the responses to infection, we felt it was important to examine the role of endogenously released vasopressin as a neuromodulator in febrile thermoregulation during infection. Therefore the present study examines the effects of chronic infusion of a V1-receptor antagonist or saline (via osmotic minipumps into the ventral septal area of the brain) on a fever induced by injection of live bacteria. Telemetry was used for continuous measurement of body temperature in the awake unhandled rat. Animals infused with the V1-antagonist exhibited fevers that were greater in duration compared with those of saline-infused animals. These results support the hypothesis that vasopressin functions as an antipyretic agent or fever-reducing agent in brain. Importantly, they suggest that endogenously released vasopressin may play a role as a neuromodulator in natural fever.


2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 245-54
Author(s):  
Elita Wibisono ◽  
Harrina E. Rahardjo

Overactive bladder (OAB) is a common condition that is experienced by around 455 million people (11% of the world population) and associated with significant impact in patients’ quality of life. The first line treatments of OAB are conservative treatment and anti-muscarinic medication. For the refractory OAB patients, the treatment options available are surgical therapy, electrical stimulation, and botulinum toxin injection. Among them, percutaneous tibial nerve stimulation (PTNS) is a minimally invasive option that aims to stimulate sacral nerve plexus, a group of nerve that is responsible for regulation of bladder function. After its approval by food and drug administration (FDA) in 2007, PTNS revealed considerable promise in OAB management. In this review, several non-comparative and comparative studies comparing PTNS with sham procedure, anti-muscarinic therapy, and multimodal therapy combining PTNS and anti-muscarinic had supportive data to this consideration.


2014 ◽  
Vol 306 (7) ◽  
pp. F781-F789 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhiying Xiao ◽  
Jeremy Reese ◽  
Zeyad Schwen ◽  
Bing Shen ◽  
Jicheng Wang ◽  
...  

Picrotoxin, an antagonist for γ-aminobutyric acid receptor subtype A (GABAA), was used to investigate the role of GABAA receptors in nociceptive and nonnociceptive reflex bladder activities and pudendal inhibition of these activities in cats under α-chloralose anesthesia. Acetic acid (AA; 0.25%) was used to irritate the bladder and induce nociceptive bladder overactivity, while saline was used to distend the bladder and induce nonnociceptive bladder activity. To modulate the bladder reflex, pudendal nerve stimulation (PNS) was applied at multiple threshold (T) intensities for inducing anal sphincter twitching. AA irritation significantly ( P < 0.01) reduced bladder capacity to 34.3 ± 7.1% of the saline control capacity, while PNS at 2T and 4T significantly ( P < 0.01) increased AA bladder capacity to 84.0 ± 7.8 and 93.2 ± 15.0%, respectively, of the saline control. Picrotoxin (0.4 mg it) did not change AA bladder capacity but completely removed PNS inhibition of AA-induced bladder overactivity. Picrotoxin (iv) only increased AA bladder capacity at a high dose (0.3 mg/kg) but significantly ( P < 0.05) reduced 2T PNS inhibition at low doses (0.01–0.1 mg/kg). During saline cystometry, PNS significantly ( P < 0.01) increased bladder capacity to 147.0 ± 7.6% at 2T and 172.7 ± 8.9% at 4T of control capacity, and picrotoxin (0.4 mg it or 0.03–0.3 mg/kg iv) also significantly ( P < 0.05) increased bladder capacity. However, picrotoxin treatment did not alter PNS inhibition during saline infusion. These results indicate that spinal GABAA receptors have different roles in controlling nociceptive and nonnociceptive reflex bladder activities and in PNS inhibition of these activities.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matylda B. Mielcarska ◽  
Magdalena Bossowska-Nowicka ◽  
Karolina P. Gregorczyk-Zboroch ◽  
Zbigniew Wyżewski ◽  
Lidia Szulc-Dąbrowska ◽  
...  

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) sense the presence of pathogen-associated molecular patterns. Nevertheless, the mechanisms modulating TLR-triggered innate immune responses are not yet fully understood. Complex regulatory systems exist to appropriately direct immune responses against foreign or self-nucleic acids, and a critical role of hepatocyte growth factor-regulated tyrosine kinase substrate (HRS), endosomal sorting complex required for transportation-0 (ESCRT-0) subunit, has recently been implicated in the endolysosomal transportation of TLR7 and TLR9. We investigated the involvement of Syk, Hrs, and STAM in the regulation of the TLR3 signaling pathway in a murine astrocyte cell line C8-D1A following cell stimulation with a viral dsRNA mimetic. Our data uncover a relationship between TLR3 and ESCRT-0, point out Syk as dsRNA-activated kinase, and suggest the role for Syk in mediating TLR3 signaling in murine astrocytes. We show molecular events that occur shortly after dsRNA stimulation of astrocytes and result in Syk Tyr-342 phosphorylation. Further, TLR3 undergoes proteolytic processing; the resulting TLR3 N-terminal form interacts with Hrs. The knockdown of Syk and Hrs enhances TLR3-mediated antiviral response in the form of IFN-β, IL-6, and CXCL8 secretion. Understanding the role of Syk and Hrs in TLR3 immune responses is of high importance since activation and precise execution of the TLR3 signaling pathway in the brain seem to be particularly significant in mounting an effective antiviral defense. Infection of the brain with herpes simplex type 1 virus may increase the secretion of amyloid-β by neurons and astrocytes and be a causal factor in degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease. Errors in TLR3 signaling, especially related to the precise regulation of the receptor transportation and degradation, need careful observation as they may disclose foundations to identify novel or sustain known therapeutic targets.


2019 ◽  
Vol 316 (4) ◽  
pp. F703-F711 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yan Zhang ◽  
Shun Li ◽  
Todd Yecies ◽  
Tara Morgan ◽  
Haotian Cai ◽  
...  

This study in α-chloralose-anesthetized cats revealed a role of hypogastric nerve afferent axons in nociceptive bladder activity induced by bladder irritation using 0.25% acetic acid (AA). In cats with intact hypogastric and pelvic nerves, AA irritation significantly ( P < 0.05) reduced bladder capacity to 45.0 ± 5.7% of the control capacity measured during a saline cystometrogram (CMG). In cats with the hypogastric nerves transected bilaterally, AA irritation also significantly ( P < 0.05) reduced bladder capacity, but the change was significantly smaller (capacity reduced to 71.5 ± 10.6% of saline control, P < 0.05) than that in cats with an intact hypogastric nerve. However, application of hypogastric nerve stimulation (HGNS: 20 Hz, 0.2 ms pulse width) to the central end of the transected nerves at an intensity (16 V) strong enough to activate C-fiber afferent axons facilitated the effect of AA irritation and further ( P < 0.05) reduced bladder capacity to 48.4 ± 7.4% of the saline control. This facilitation by HGNS was effective only at selected frequencies (1, 20, and 30 Hz) when the stimulation intensity was above the threshold for activating C-fibers. Tramadol (an analgesic agent) at 3 mg/kg iv completely blocked the nociceptive bladder activity and eliminated the facilitation by HGNS. HGNS did not alter non-nociceptive bladder activity induced by saline distention of the bladder. These results indicate that sympathetic afferents in the hypogastric nerve play an important role in the facilitation of the nociceptive bladder activity induced by bladder irritation that activates the silent C-fibers in the pelvic nerve.


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