Conditional depletion of methyl-CpG-binding protein 2 in astrocytes depresses the hypercapnic ventilatory response in mice

2015 ◽  
Vol 119 (6) ◽  
pp. 670-676 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saurabh K. Garg ◽  
Daniel T. Lioy ◽  
Sharon J. Knopp ◽  
John M. Bissonnette

Mice that are deficient in the transcription factor methyl-CpG-binding protein 2 (MeCP2) have a depressed hypercapnic ventilatory response (HCVR). The expression of MeCP2 can be selectively removed from astrocytes or neurons, thus offering a tool to dissect the role of this transcription factor in astrocytes from that in neurons. Studies were carried out in the progeny of mice that were a cross between those harboring a tamoxifen (TAM)-inducible Cre recombinase transgene driven by the human astrocytic glial fibrillary acidic protein (hGFAP) promoter, or Cre recombinase under control of the synapsin promoter, with mice containing a Cre-excisable exon III in the Mecp2 gene. The TAM-conditional excision of the Mecp2 exon allowed the respiratory CO2 response to be studied in the same animals before and after selective depletion of MeCP2 in astrocytes. Immunohistochemistry showed that following TAM treatment only ∼20% of GFAP-labeled cells in the retrotrapazoid nucleus and in the raphé magnus were positive for MeCP2. The slope of the relative increase in minute ventilation as a function of 1, 3, and 5% inspired CO2 was depressed in mice with depleted astrocyte MeCP2 compared with wild-type littermates. In contrast, selective depletion of MeCP2 in neurons did not significantly affect slope. While neurons which constitute the respiratory network ultimately determine the ventilatory response to CO2, this study demonstrates that loss of MeCP2 in astrocytes alone is sufficient to result in a dramatic attenuation of the HCVR. We propose that the glial contribution to HCVR is under the control of the MeCP2 gene.

2004 ◽  
Vol 97 (5) ◽  
pp. 1673-1680 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris Morelli ◽  
M. Safwan Badr ◽  
Jason H. Mateika

We hypothesized that the acute ventilatory response to carbon dioxide in the presence of low and high levels of oxygen would increase to a greater extent in men compared with women after exposure to episodic hypoxia. Eleven healthy men and women of similar race, age, and body mass index completed a series of rebreathing trials before and after exposure to eight 4-min episodes of hypoxia. During the rebreathing trials, subjects initially hyperventilated to reduce the end-tidal partial pressure of carbon dioxide (PetCO2) below 25 Torr. Subjects then rebreathed from a bag containing a normocapnic (42 Torr), low (50 Torr), or high oxygen gas mixture (150 Torr). During the trials, PetCO2 increased while the selected level of oxygen was maintained. The point at which minute ventilation began to rise in a linear fashion as PetCO2 increased was considered to be the carbon dioxide set point. The ventilatory response below and above this point was determined. The results showed that the ventilatory response to carbon dioxide above the set point was increased in men compared with women before exposure to episodic hypoxia, independent of the oxygen level that was maintained during the rebreathing trials (50 Torr: men, 5.19 ± 0.82 vs. women, 4.70 ± 0.77 l·min−1·Torr−1; 150 Torr: men, 4.33 ± 1.15 vs. women, 3.21 ± 0.58 l·min−1·Torr−1). Moreover, relative to baseline measures, the ventilatory response to carbon dioxide in the presence of low and high oxygen levels increased to a greater extent in men compared with women after exposure to episodic hypoxia (50 Torr: men, 9.52 ± 1.40 vs. women, 5.97 ± 0.71 l·min−1·Torr−1; 150 Torr: men, 5.73 ± 0.81 vs. women, 3.83 ± 0.56 l·min−1·Torr−1). Thus we conclude that enhancement of the acute ventilatory response to carbon dioxide after episodic hypoxia is sex dependent.


1994 ◽  
Vol 76 (4) ◽  
pp. 1528-1532 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. T. De Sanctis ◽  
F. H. Green ◽  
X. Jiang ◽  
M. King ◽  
J. E. Remmers

This study reports experiments designed to evaluate the role of neurokinin-1 (NK1) receptors for substance P (SP) in the ventilatory response to acute hypoxia. Ventilation was measured by indirect plethysmography in eight unanesthetized unrestrained adult rats before and after bolus injection of 1, 5, or 10 mg/kg (ip) of CP-96,345 (Pfizer), a potent nonpeptide competitive antagonist of the SP NK1 receptor. Ventilation was measured while the rats breathed air or 8% O2–92% N2 with and without administration of SP antagonist. Pretreatment with CP-96,345 decreased the magnitude of the hypoxic response in a dose-dependent fashion. Minute ventilation in rats pretreated with CP-96,345 was reduced by 22.1% (P < 0.05) at the highest dose (10 mg/kg), largely because of an attenuation of the frequency component. Although both control and treated rats responded to hypoxia with a decrease in duration of inspiration and expiration rats pretreated with CP-96,345 displayed a smaller decrease in inspiration and expiration than control rats (P < 0.05). We have recently shown that neuropeptide-containing fibers are important for mediating the tachypnic response during acute isocapnic hypoxia in rats. The attenuation in minute ventilation at the highest dose (10 mg/kg) is comparable in magnitude to the attenuation observed with neonatal capsaicin treatment, which permanently ablates neuropeptide-containing unmyelinated fibers. Accordingly, this previously reported role of capsaicin-sensitive nerves in the hypoxic ventilatory response of rats is probably attributable to released SP acting at NK1 receptors. One of the likely sites of action of SP antagonists is the carotid body.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


1988 ◽  
Vol 65 (3) ◽  
pp. 1383-1388 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. I. Schaeffer ◽  
G. G. Haddad

To determine the role of opioids in modulating the ventilatory response to moderate or severe hypoxia, we studied ventilation in six chronically instrumented awake adult dogs during hypoxia before and after naloxone administration. Parenteral naloxone (200 micrograms/kg) significantly increased instantaneous minute ventilation (VT/TT) during severe hypoxia, (inspired O2 fraction = 0.07, arterial PO2 = 28-35 Torr); however, consistent effects during moderate hypoxia (inspired O2 fraction = 0.12, arterial PO2 = 40-47 Torr) could not be demonstrated. Parenteral naloxone increased O2 consumption (VO2) in severe hypoxia as well. Despite significant increases in ventilation post-naloxone during severe hypoxia, arterial blood gas tensions remained the same. Control studies revealed that neither saline nor naloxone produced a respiratory effect during normoxia; also the preservative vehicle of naloxone induced no change in ventilation during severe hypoxia. These data suggest that, in adult dogs, endorphins are released and act to restrain ventilation during severe hypoxia; the relationship between endorphin release and moderate hypoxia is less consistent. The observed increase in ventilation post-naloxone during severe hypoxia is accompanied by an increase in metabolic rate, explaining the isocapnic response.


2006 ◽  
Vol 290 (6) ◽  
pp. R1691-R1696 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Ramanantsoa ◽  
V. Vaubourg ◽  
S. Dauger ◽  
B. Matrot ◽  
G. Vardon ◽  
...  

Heterozygous mutations of the transcription factor PHOX2B have been found in most patients with central congenital hypoventilation syndrome, a rare disease characterized by sleep-related hypoventilation and impaired chemosensitivity to sustained hypercapnia and sustained hypoxia. PHOX2B is a master regulator of autonomic reflex pathways, including peripheral chemosensitive pathways. In the present study, we used hyperoxic tests to assess the strength of the peripheral chemoreceptor tonic drive in Phox2b+/− newborn mice. We exposed 69 wild-type and 67 mutant mice to two hyperoxic tests (12-min air followed by 3-min 100% O2) 2 days after birth. Breathing variables were measured noninvasively using whole body flow plethysmography. The initial minute ventilation decrease was larger in mutant pups than in wild-type pups: −37% (SD 13) and −25% (SD 18), respectively, P < 0.0001. Furthermore, minute ventilation remained depressed throughout O2 exposure in mutants, possibly because of their previously reported impaired CO2 chemosensitivity, whereas it returned rapidly to the normoxic level in wild-type pups. Hyperoxia considerably increased total apnea duration in mutant compared with wild-type pups ( P = 0.0001). A complementary experiment established that body temperature was not influenced by hyperoxia in either genotype group and, therefore, did not account for genotype-related differences in the hyperoxic ventilatory response. Thus partial loss of Phox2b function by heterozygosity did not diminish the tonic drive from peripheral chemoreceptors.


2015 ◽  
Vol 86 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-33
Author(s):  
Dimitrios I. Bourdas ◽  
Theodoros S. Tsakiris ◽  
Konstantinos I. Pavlakis ◽  
Despoina V. Triantafillou ◽  
Nickos D. Geladas

1989 ◽  
Vol 67 (3) ◽  
pp. 1157-1163 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Georgopoulos ◽  
S. Walker ◽  
N. R. Anthonisen

In adult humans the ventilatory response to sustained hypoxia (VRSH) is biphasic, characterized by an initial brisk increase, due to peripheral chemoreceptor (PC) stimulation, followed by a decline attributed to central depressant action of hypoxia. To study the effects of selective stimulation of PC on the ventilatory response pattern to hypoxia, the VRSH was evaluated after pretreatment with almitrine (A), a PC stimulant. Eight subjects were pretreated with A (75 mg po) or placebo (P) on 2 days in a single-blind manner. Two hours after drug administration, they breathed, in succession, room air (10 min), O2 (5 min), room air (5 min), hypoxia [25 min, arterial O2 saturation (SaO2) = 80%], O2 (5 min), and room air (5 min). End-tidal CO2 was kept constant at the normoxic base-line values. Inspiratory minute ventilation (VI) and breathing patterns were measured over the last 2 min of each period and during minutes 3–5 of hypoxia, and nadirs in VI were assessed just before and after O2 exposure. Independent of the day, the VRSH was biphasic. With P and A pretreatment, early hypoxia increased VI 4.6 +/- 1 and 14.2 +/- 1 (SE) l/min, respectively, from values obtained during the preceding room-air period. On A day the hypoxic ventilatory decline was significantly larger than that on P day, and on both days the decline was a constant fraction of the acute hypoxic response.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


1989 ◽  
Vol 256 (1) ◽  
pp. R91-R97
Author(s):  
E. L. Coates ◽  
G. O. Ballam

The ventilatory response of the garter snake, Thamnophis sirtalis, to 2% CO2 delivered to the upper airways (UA) was measured before and after the olfactory or vomeronasal nerves were transected. The UA (nasal cavities and mouth) were isolated from the gas source inspired into the lungs by inserting an endotracheal T tube into the glottis. CO2 was administered to the UA via a head chamber. The primary ventilatory response to UA CO2 was a significant decrease in ventilatory frequency (f) and minute ventilation. The decrease in f was caused by a significant increase in the pause duration. Tidal volume, expiratory duration, and inspiratory duration were not altered with UA CO2. The f response to UA CO2 was abolished with olfactory nerve transection, whereas vomeronasal nerve transection significantly increased the magnitude of the f depression. These results indicate that CO2-sensitive receptors are located in the nasal epithelium and that the olfactory nerves must be intact for the UA CO2 f response to be observed. In addition, the vomeronasal system appears to modulate the ventilatory response to UA CO2.


2003 ◽  
Vol 94 (1) ◽  
pp. 101-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
X. S. Zhou ◽  
J. A. Rowley ◽  
F. Demirovic ◽  
M. P. Diamond ◽  
M. S. Badr

The hypocapnic apneic threshold (AT) is lower in women relative to men. To test the hypothesis that the gender difference in AT was due to testosterone, we determined the AT during non-rapid eye movement sleep in eight healthy, nonsnoring, premenopausal women before and after 10–12 days of transdermal testosterone. Hypocapnia was induced via nasal mechanical ventilation (MV) for 3 min with tidal volumes ranging from 175 to 215% above eupneic tidal volume and respiratory frequency matched to eupneic frequency. Cessation of MV resulted in hypocapnic central apnea or hypopnea depending on the magnitude of hypocapnia. Nadir minute ventilation as a percentage of control (%V˙e) was plotted against the change in end-tidal CO2(Pet CO2 ); %V˙e was given a value of zero during central apnea. The AT was defined as the Pet CO2 at which the apnea closest to the last hypopnea occurred; hypocapnic ventilatory response (HPVR) was defined as the slope of the linear regression V˙e vs. Pet CO2 . Both the AT (39.5 ± 2.9 vs. 42.1 ± 3.0 Torr; P = 0.002) and HPVR (0.20 ± 0.05 vs. 0.33 ± 0.11%V˙e/Torr; P = 0.016) increased with testosterone administration. We conclude that testosterone administration increases AT in premenopausal women, suggesting that the increased breathing instability during sleep in men is related to the presence of testosterone.


1998 ◽  
Vol 84 (5) ◽  
pp. 1487-1491 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hidenori Edo ◽  
Hiroshi Kimura ◽  
Mafumi Niijima ◽  
Hideo Sakabe ◽  
Masato Shibuya ◽  
...  

Vibratory stimulation applied to the chest wall during inspiration reduces the intensity of breathlessness, whereas the same stimulation during expiration has no effect or may increase breathlessness. The purpose of the present study was to determine whether vibration reduced the intensity of breathlessness during progressive hypercapnia with and without the addition of an external resistive load. A second objective was to see whether the mouth occlusion pressure at 0.2 s (P0.2) was reduced by the vibratory stimulation. Hypercapnic ventilatory response was conducted in 10 healthy male volunteers with simultaneous measurement of visual analog scale, P0.2, and minute ventilation. Hypercapnic ventilatory response was performed and randomly combined with or without vibratory stimulation (100 Hz) as well as with or without inspiratory load. With inspiratory load, in-phase vibration did not cause any significant changes in the slopes of P0.2 and minute ventilation to CO2, whereas the slope of visual analog scale to CO2 significantly decreased from 0.47 ± 0.15 to 0.34 ± 0.11 (SE) cm/Torr ( P < 0.05). We conclude that in-phase vibration could decrease the slope of breathlessness elicited by inspiratory load combined with hypercapnia without changing motor output.


2007 ◽  
Vol 102 (4) ◽  
pp. 1416-1421 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sophie-Emmanuelle Genest ◽  
Roumiana Gulemetova ◽  
Sylvie Laforest ◽  
Guy Drolet ◽  
Richard Kinkead

Neonatal maternal separation (NMS) is a form of stress that exerts persistent, sex-specific effects on the hypoxic ventilatory response. Adult male rats previously subjected to NMS show a 25% increase in the response, whereas NMS females show a response 30% lower than controls ( 8 ). To assess the extent to which NMS affects ventilatory control development, we tested the hypothesis that NMS alters the ventilatory response to hypercapnia in awake, unrestrained rats. Pups subjected to NMS were placed in a temperature- and humidity-controlled incubator 3 h/day for 10 consecutive days (P3 to P12). Control pups were undisturbed. At adulthood (8 to 10 wk old), rats were placed in a plethysmography chamber for measurement of ventilatory parameters under baseline and hypercapnic conditions (inspired CO2 fraction = 0.05). After 20 min of hypercapnia, the minute ventilation response measured in NMS males was 47% less than controls, owing to a lower tidal volume response (22%). Conversely, females previously subjected to NMS showed minute ventilation and tidal volume responses 63 and 18% larger than controls respectively. Although a lower baseline minute ventilation contributes to this effect, the higher minute ventilation/CO2 production response observed in NMS females suggests a greater responsiveness to CO2/H+ in this group. We conclude that NMS exerts sex-specific effects on the hypercapnic ventilatory response and that the neural mechanisms affected by NMS likely differ from those involved in the hypoxic chemoreflex.


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