(Hypertension. 1999;34:752-755.)
© 1999 American Heart Association, Inc.
Scientific Contributions |
From the Department of Physiology, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Escola Paulista de Medicina, Rua Botucatu, São Paulo, Brazil.
Correspondence to Ruy R. Campos, PhD, Departamento de Fisiologia, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Escola Paulista de Medicina, Rua Botucatu, 862, CEP 04023-060, São Paulo, SP, Brazil. E-mail campos{at}fisiocardio.epm.br
| Abstract |
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Key Words: vasomotor tone ventrolateral medulla glycine hypertension, experimental rats
| Introduction |
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The RVLM is a pressor area containing sympathetic premotor neurons.
There is a large body of evidence showing that the functional integrity
of the RVLM is essential for the maintenance of basal vasomotor
tone. Electrolytic lesion or chemical inactivation of RVLM neurons by
inhibitory amino acids such as glycine or
-aminobutyric
acid results in a collapse of BP similar to that usually obtained in
acute spinal animals.3 7 8 Most of these studies were
performed on anesthetized animals, a condition that may be a
limiting factor in the interpretation and analysis of the
results obtained. Conscious animals may be an entirely different entity
because of the withdrawal of the anesthetic effects.
In the present study we examined the cardiovascular effects of different doses of glycine or glutamate microinjected into the RVLM of conscious, freely moving animals. The effects of glutamatergic synapse blockade on BP and on the cardiovascular responses to the microinjections were also tested.
| Methods |
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Cannula Implantation into the RVLM
Three to 5 days before the experiments, animals were
anesthetized with thiopental (40 mg/kg IP) and placed
prone in a stereotaxic apparatus with the bite
bar 5 mm below the interaural line. The lambda was taken as a
landmark for the stereotaxic coordinates. To implant the
guide cannulas, 2 occipital holes were bilaterally drilled caudal to
the lambda, through which a stainless steel cannula was directed to the
desired stereotaxic position in relation to lambda
(anteroposterior=-2.2 mm, lateral=1.8 mm).
Two separate electrode manipulators were used in the stereotaxic frame with independent movements (posterior inclination of 8°), allowing distinct anteroposterior and lateral measurements on each side. A stainless steel tube (OD=1.5 mm, length=15 mm) was fixed on the side of an electrode holder to contain and allow displacement of the support system of the guide cannula.
A stainless steel micropipette (OD=0.3 mm) was placed inside the set of support and guide cannulas. The length of the micropipettes and the guide cannulas was adjusted to allow only the micropipettes to be inserted into the brain tissue. The guide cannula was then directed to the desired stereotaxic position. Vertical positioning was obtained by slowly lowering both the micropipette and the set of supporting and guide cannulas until a slight displacement between them was observed. Postmortem histology demonstrated that this procedure consistently permitted the placement of the micropipette tip juxtaposed to the surface of the ventral medulla, otherwise intact.
Two screws were placed 2 mm from the lambdoid sutures for further stabilization of the guide cannulas. Finally, the cannulas were surrounded by a ringlike crown structure to avoid animal contact. The animals recovered from surgery in a heat-controlled cage.
Twenty-four hours before the experiments, rats were anesthetized with ketamine (40 mg/kg IP) and xylazine (20 mg/kg IP), and the right femoral vein and artery were cannulated and dorsally exteriorized for drug infusion and for BP recording with the use of a transducer (Statham P23 Db) connected to a Beckman R511A recorder. Mean arterial pressure (MAP) was obtained by filtering the BP signal in a second channel, and heart rate (HR) was recorded with a cardiotachometer (Beckman 9857B) triggered by the pulse wave in a third channel. On the day of the experiment the animals were kept in their cages, and the basal recordings were obtained for at least 30 minutes.
Drug Microinjections
Drugs were microinjected into the RVLM through micropipettes
placed inside the guide cannulas at positions determined previously, as
described above, and connected to Hamilton (701) microsyringes (1
µL). Microinjections consisted of glycine (50, 10, or 1 nmol/50 nL),
glutamate (10 nmol, 50 nL), kynurenic acid (4 nmol, 50 nL), or saline.
The pH of the solutions was adjusted to 7.4. Injections into the RVLM
were performed with the rats showing no external signs of discomfort or
respiratory alterations.
Histology
At the end of the experiments, 50 nL of 2% Evans blue dye was
injected into the ventromedullary sites. In some experiments the RVLM
was marked with 1% horseradish peroxidase diluted in glycine. Animals
were killed with an overdose of urethane, and the brain stem was
removed and fixed in 10% formaldehyde for histological
analysis. A characteristic injection site is shown in Figure 1.
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Data Analysis
All values are expressed as mean±SEM. The significance of
changes in MAP or HR after microinjection was determined within each
group by Student's paired t test. Differences between
groups were assessed by 1-way ANOVA followed by the
Student-Newman-Keuls method. Differences were considered significant
for a value of P<0.05.
| Results |
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Effects of Bilateral Microinjections of Low Doses of Glycine into
the RVLM
When low doses of glycine were used, a decrease in BP was observed
instead of the increase described above. Glycine microinjection (10
nmol, 50 nL) significantly decreased MAP (from 120±3 to mm Hg to
107±2 mm Hg), as shown in Figure 3A. The response started during the
microinjection, peaked at 1 minute, and remained below resting levels
for 4 minutes. A similar decrease was also observed when a lower dose
of glycine (1 nmol, 50 nL) was microinjected (from 121±2 to
105±2 mm Hg), as shown in Figure 3B.
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Effect of Glutamatergic Synapse Blockade Within the RLVM on the
Hypertension Induced by Unilateral Glycine or
L-Glutamate Microinjections
Unilateral microinjection of the broad-spectrum glutamate
antagonist kynurenic acid into the RVLM did not change
basal BP level but blocked the hypertension induced by high doses of
both glycine and glutamate. Unilateral L-glutamate (10
nmol, 50 nL) microinjection into the RVLM in freely moving rats
produced an increase in MAP (from 117±2 to 156±7 mm Hg), as
shown in Figure 4A. The response started
during the microinjection, peaked at 1 minute, and remained above
resting level for 2 minutes. After kynurenic acid microinjection,
glutamate induced no significant change in MAP (from 117±3 to
115±2 mm Hg) (Figure 4B). This effective blockade lasted
60 minutes, and a full recovery was only observed after 3 hours. In
another group of 7 animals, when glycine (50 nmol) was injected 15
minutes after kynurenic acid, a blockade of hypertension was observed
(from 109±3 to 112±3 mm Hg), as shown in Figure 4C.
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| Discussion |
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It is accepted that sympathetic premotor neurons of the RVLM are
critical for the maintenance of ongoing excitatory drive that
supports the activity of preganglionic vasomotor
neurons.1 2 Most of these studies were performed on
anesthetized animals. When RVLM sympathetic premotor neurons
were activated an increase in BP was
observed,10 12 13 and, more importantly, when they were
inhibited BP fell to levels similar to those observed after acute
spinal cord transection.2 3 8 14 However, these studies
were conducted on animals anesthetized with urethane,
-chloralose, or sodium pentobarbital, drugs with central and
peripheral effects that might directly or indirectly modify
the cardiovascular responses to RVLM inhibition. For
example, Cochrane and Nathan15 showed in rats that the
hypotension produced by RVLM lesion depended on the
anesthesia condition.
Although previous studies showed that chemical stimulation of RVLM neurons produced an increase in BP in conscious animals,11 controversy has involved questions of the determination of vasomotor tone and the importance of RVLM activity in the maintenance of BP not only in anesthetized animals but also in conscious animals.
In the present study we found that the fall in BP caused by RVLM inhibition with low doses of glycine was less intensive than that observed in anesthetized animals. It is possible that in conscious animals other premotor neurons are capable of maintaining BP during RVLM inhibition by glycine. Particular nuclei in the brain stem and hypothalamus project directly to sympathetic premotor neurons such as the paraventricular nucleus, A5 noradrenergic cell group, and caudal raphe nuclei, which may therefore be involved in the maintenance of sympathetic vasomotor tone during withdrawal of RVLM neurons in conscious animals.2
Previous studies have demonstrated that glycine is a potential neurotransmitter in the VLM with a physiological significance, since it was shown that during baroreceptor stimulation or in response to potassium, glycine was released into the VLM.16 17 It remains to be determined whether the glycinergic afferents in the RVLM are spontaneously active. In anesthetized cats, Guertzenstein18 showed a dose-dependent increase in BP in response to strychnine applied into the RVLM. On the other hand, Ross et al19 showed no change in BP or HR in response to strychnine microinjected into the same area in anesthetized rats. In addition to having a direct action on specific receptors, glycine can also induce release of other neurotransmitters such as acetylcholine.20
In studies on cats under chloralose anesthesia, Feldberg and Guertzenstein21 demonstrated that an area exists in the medullary-spinal transition that appears to maintain BP in deeply anesthetized cats. These authors demonstrated that during surgical anesthesia with chloralose, the stimulation of this area with topical application of pentylenetetrazol produced a decrease in BP. In contrast, when the same animals were profoundly anesthetized, stimulation of this area produced an increase in BP, and its inhibition produced a decrease similar to that observed in response to inhibition of the RVLM. These experiments demonstrate the influence on and interference of anesthesia with the cardiovascular responses to pharmacological manipulation of the nervous system. Similarly, Bachelard et al11 demonstrated that the cardiovascular responses to microinjection of L-glutamate into the RVLM are more prominent in conscious animals than in animals anesthetized with urethane.
One explanation for the observation of a different intensity of the cardiovascular response to microinjection of glycine into the RVLM of conscious or anesthetized animals could be that in conscious animals behavioral effects may cause secondary cardiovascular alterations that may mask the actions of these drugs. However, this possibility seems to be remote since no behavioral alterations were observed in response to microinjections of glycine, L-glutamate, or kynurenic acid into the RVLM of conscious animals. Saline microinjections did not modify BP or HR, and no respiratory alterations were observed in response to the microinjections.
The RVLM exerts an excitatory influence on sympathetic vasomotor fibers, the adrenal medulla, and the posterior pituitary.19 These neurons are tonically active, and the inhibition or activation of RVLM premotor neurons in conscious animals can change BP through these mechanisms.
Another important finding of the present work is that no change in BP was observed after kynurenic acid microinjection into the RVLM, showing that in the conscious condition the glutamatergic synapses within the RVLM are not important for maintenance basal BP. The same result was obtained previously in anesthetized animals.5 22 23 Glutamatergic synapses in the RVLM seem to be important to maintain BP only in renovascular or spontaneously hypertensive rats.10 Although no change in BP was observed after kynurenic acid microinjection, the acid totally blocked the hypertension induced by a high dose of glycine or glutamate. The hypertension induced by glycine can be explained by its effect at the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor site.24 25 26 It has been previously shown that glycine may potentiate the action of N-methyl-D-aspartate by acting on an allosteric site of the receptor and that kynurenic acid is capable of displacing glycine from this allosteric site.24 27
Finally, we would like to emphasize that although we have shown that inhibition of the RVLM produces a less effective reduction in BP in conscious, freely moving rats than in anesthetized rats, we cannot rule out the participation of this area in the maintenance of BP. It is conceivable that in conscious animals, the RVLM is responsible for the maintenance of vasomotor tone and sympathetic activity in association with other areas of the brain. During RVLM inhibition, these other areas outside the RVLM may assume its role in the maintenance of BP in conscious animals. An intense fall in BP could only be observed after sequential inhibition of different regions.
| Acknowledgments |
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Received May 8, 1999; first decision June 15, 1999; accepted July 12, 1999.
| References |
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