Serotonergic neurons in the nucleus raphe obscurus contribute to interaction between central and peripheral ventilatory responses to hypercapnia

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Ventilatory responses to skin extract in catfish

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Orexin in the toad Rhinella schneideri: The location of orexinergic neurons and the role of orexin in ventilatory responses to hypercarbia and hypoxia

Recent reports have suggested that orexins, also known as hypocretins, play an important role in the modulation of respiratory control in mammals, but there are no data available describing the role of the orexinergic system in the peripheral and central chemoreception of non-mammalian vertebrates. Therefore, the present study was designed to examine the localization of orexin-immunoreactive neurons in the brain of toads (Rhinella schneideri) and to investigate the contribution of orexin receptor-1 (OX1R) to the hypoxic and hypercarbic ventilatory responses of these animals during light and dark phases. Our results demonstrated that the orexinergic neurons of R. schneideri are located in the suprachiasmatic nucleus of the diencephalon. Additionally, the intracerebroventricular injection of SB-334867 (OX1R selective antagonist) attenuated the ventilatory response to hypercarbia during the dark phase by acting on tidal volume and breathing frequency, while during the light phase, SB-334867 attenuated the ventilatory response to hypoxia by acting on tidal volume only. We conclude that in the toad R. schneideri, orexinergic neurons are located in the suprachiasmatic nucleus and that OX1R contributes to hypercarbic and hypoxic chemoreflexes.

Hypoxic and hypercapnic ventilatory responses in rats with polycystic ovaries

In female rats, a single injection of estradiol valerate (EV) results in effects that are similar to those observed in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). We hypothesized that EV-induced PCOS affects breathing control based on evidence showing an influence of sex hormones on ventilation. To test this hypothesis, we studied the effects of EV treatment on the ventilation of female rats in air, in 7% CO2 and in 7% O2, at 30, 45 and 60 days after EV injection. The group examined 30 days after EV treatment showed a 61% reduction in the hypercapnic ventilatory response compared to the control group. Basal ventilation, hypoxic ventilatory response, and body temperature were not affected. These results, suggest that the hormonal changes observed in PCOS may result in a temporary inhibition of the central chemoreflex but do not influence basal ventilation or the hypoxic peripheral chemoreflex.

Serotonergic neurons in the nucleus raphé obscurus are not involved in the ventilatory and thermoregulatory responses to hypoxia in adult rats

The medullary raphé is an important component of the central respiratory network, playing a key role in CO2 central chemoreception. However, its participation in hypoxic ventilatory responses is less understood. In the present study, we assessed the role of nucleus raphé obscurus (ROb), and specifically 5-HT neurons confined in the ROb, on ventilatory and thermoregulatory responses to hypoxia. Chemical lesions of the ROb were performed using either ibotenic acid (non-specific lesion; control animals received PBS) or anti-SERT-SAP (5-HT specific lesion; control animals received IgG-SAP). Ventilation (VE; whole body plethysmograph) and body temperature (Tb; data loggers) were measured during normoxia (21% O2, N2 balance) and hypoxia exposure (7% O2, N2 balance, 1h) in conscious adult rats. Ibotenic acid or anti-SERT-SAP-induced lesions did not affect baseline values of VE and Tb. Similarly, both lesion procedures did not alter the ventilatory or thermoregulatory responses to hypoxia. Although evidence in the literature suggests a role of the rostral medullary raphé in hypoxic ventilatory responses, under the present experimental conditions our data indicate that caudal medullary raphé (ROb) and its 5-HT neurons neither participate in the tonic maintenance of breathing nor in the ventilatory and thermal responses to hypoxia. © 2013 Elsevier B.V.

Ventilatory, metabolic, and thermal responses to hypercapnia in female rats: effects of estrous cycle, ovariectomy, and hormonal replacement

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Periaqueductal gray matter modulates the hypercapnic ventilatory response

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

The breathing pattern and the ventilatory response to aquatic and aerial hypoxia and hypercarbia in the frog Pipa carvalhoi

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Central leptin replacement enhances chemorespiratory responses in leptin-deficient mice independent of changes in body weight

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Arterial acid-base status during digestion and following vascular infusion of NaHCO3 and HCl in the South American rattlesnake, Crotalus durissus

Digestion is associated with gastric secretion that leads to an alkalinisation of the blood, termed the alkaline tide. Numerous studies on different reptiles and amphibians show that while plasma bicarbonate concentration ([HCO3-](pl)) increases substantially during digestion, arterial pH (pHa) remains virtually unchanged, due to a concurrent rise in arterial PCO2 (PaCO2) caused by a relative hypoventilation. This has led to the suggestion that postprandial amphibians and reptiles regulate pHa rather than PaCO2.Here we characterize blood gases in the South American rattlesnake (Crotalus durissus) during digestion and following systemic infusions of NaHCO3 and HCl in fasting animals to induce a metabolic alkalosis or acidosis in fasting animals. The magnitude of these acid-base disturbances were similar in magnitude to that mediated by digestion and exercise. Plasma [HCOT] increased from 18.4+/-1.5 to 23.7+/-1.0 mmol L-1 during digestion and was accompanied by a respiratory compensation where PaCO2 increased from 13.0+/-0.7 to 19.1+/-1.4 mm Hg at 24 h. As a result, pHa decreased slightly, but were significantly below fasting levels 36 h into digestion. Infusion of NaHCO3 (7 mmol kg(-1)) resulted in a 10 mmol L-1 increase in plasma [HCO3-] within 1 h and was accompanied by a rapid elevation of pHa (from 7.58+/-0.01 to 7.78+/-0.02). PaCO2, however, did not change following HCO3- infusion, which indicates a lack of respiratory compensation. Following infusion of HCl (4 mmol kg(-1)), plasma pHa decreased by 0.07 units and [HCO3-](pl) was reduced by 4.6 mmol L-1 within the first 3 h. PaCO2, however, was not affected and there was no evidence for respiratory compensation.Our data show that digesting rattlesnakes exhibit respiratory compensations to the alkaline tide, whereas artificially induced metabolic acid-base disturbances of same magnitude remain uncompensated. It seems difficult to envision that the central and peripheral chemoreceptors would experience different stimuli during these conditions. One explanation for the different ventilatory responses could be that digestion induces a more relaxed state with low responsiveness to ventilatory stimuli. (C) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Hypercarbic cardiorespiratory reflexes in the facultative air-breathing fish jeju (Hoplerythrinus unitaeniatus): the role of branchial CO2 chemoreceptors

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Gill chemoreceptors and cardio-respiratory reflexes in the neotropical teleost pacu, Piaractus mesopotamicus

This study examined the location and distribution of O-2 chemoreceptors involved in cardio-respiratory responses to hypoxia in the neotropical teleost, the pacu (Piaractus mesopotamicus). Intact fish and fish experiencing progressive gill denervation by selective transection of cranial nerves IX and X were exposed to gradual hypoxia and submitted to intrabuccal and intravenous injections of NaCN while their heart rate, ventilation rate and ventilation amplitude were measured. The chemoreceptors producing reflex bradycardia were confined to, but distributed along all gill arches, and were sensitive to O-2 levels in the water and the blood. Ventilatory responses to all stimuli, though modified, continued following gill denervation, however, indicating the presence of internally and externally oriented receptors along all gill arches and either in the pseudobranch or at extra-branchial sites. Chemoreceptors located on the first pair of gill arches and innervated by the glossopharyngeal nerve appeared to attenuate the cardiac and respiratory responses to hypoxia. The data indicate that the location and distribution of cardio-respiratory O-2 receptors are not identical to those in tambaqui (Colossoma macropomum) despite their similar habitats and close phylogenetic lineage, although the differences between the two species could reduce to nothing more than the presence or absence of the pseudobranch.