Intraesophageal chemicals enhance responsiveness of upper thoracic spinal neurons to mechanical stimulation of esophagus in rats

2008 ◽  
Vol 294 (3) ◽  
pp. G708-G716 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chao Qin ◽  
Jay P. Farber ◽  
Robert D. Foreman

Esophageal hypersensitivity is one of the most common causes of noncardiac chest pain in patients. In this study, we investigated whether exposure of the esophagus to acid and other chemical irritants affected activity of thoracic spinal neurons responding to esophageal distension (ED) in rats. Extracellular potentials of single thoracic (T3) spinal neurons were recorded in pentobarbital sodium-anesthetized, -paralyzed, and -ventilated male rats. ED (0.2 or 0.4 ml, 20 s) was produced by water inflation of a latex balloon placed orally into the middle thoracic region of the esophagus. The chemicals were administered via a tube that was passed through the stomach and placed in the thoracic esophagus. To irritate the esophagus, 0.2 ml of HCl (0.01 N), bradykinin (10 μg/ml), or capsaicin (10 μg/ml) were injected for 1–2 min. Only neurons excited by ED were included in this study. Results showed that intraesophageal instillation of HCl, bradykinin, and capsaicin increased activity in 3/20 (15%), 7/25 (28%), and 9/20 (45%) neurons but enhanced excitatory responses to ED in 9/17 (53%), 8/15 (53%), and 7/11 (64%) of the remaining spinal neurons, respectively. Furthermore, intraesophageal chemicals were more likely to enhance the responsiveness of low-threshold neurons than high-threshold neurons to the esophageal mechanical stimulus. Normal saline (pH 7.4, 0.2 ml) or vehicle instilled in the esophagus did not significantly affect activity or ED responses of neurons. We conclude that enhanced responses of thoracic spinal neurons to ED by the chemically challenged esophagus may provide a possible pathophysiological basis for visceral hypersensitivity in patients with gastroesophageal reflux and/or esophagitis.

2006 ◽  
Vol 291 (6) ◽  
pp. R1700-R1707 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chao Qin ◽  
Jay P. Farber ◽  
Kenneth E. Miller ◽  
Robert D. Foreman

The purpose of this study was to examine how upper thoracic spinal neurons responded to activation and desensitization of cardiac transient receptor potential vanilloid-1 (TRPV1)-containing afferent fibers. Extracellular potentials of single T3 spinal neurons were recorded in pentobarbital-anesthetized, paralyzed, and ventilated male rats. To activate cardiac nociceptive receptors, a catheter was placed in the pericardial sac to administer various chemicals: bradykinin (BK; 10 μg/ml, 0.2 ml), capsaicin (CAP, 10 μg/ml, 0.2 ml), or a mixture of algesic chemicals (AC; 0.2 ml) containing adenosine 10−3 M, BK, serotonin, histamine, and PGE2, 10−5 M for each. Spinal neurons that responded to intrapericardial BK and/or CAP were used in this study. Results showed that 81% (35/43) of the neurons had excitatory responses to both intrapericardial BK and CAP, and the remainder responded to either BK or CAP. Intrapericardial resiniferatoxin (RTX) (0.2 μg/ml, 0.2 ml, 1 min), which desensitizes TRPV1-containing nerve endings, abolished excitatory responses to both BK ( n = 8) and CAP ( n = 7), and to AC ( n = 5) but not to somatic stimuli. Intrapericardial capsazepine (1 mg/ml, 0.2 ml, 3 min), a specific antagonist of TRPV1, sharply attenuated excitatory responses to CAP in 5/5 neurons, but responses to BK in 5/5 neurons was maintained. Additionally, intrapericardial capsazepine had no significant effect on excitatory responses to AC in 3/3 neurons. These data indicated that intrapericardial BK-initiated spinal neuronal responses were linked to cardiac TRPV1-containing afferent fibers, but were not dependent on TRPV1. Intraspinal signaling for cardiac nociception was mediated through CAP-sensitive afferent fibers innervating the heart.


1990 ◽  
Vol 258 (1) ◽  
pp. R10-R20 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. F. Hobbs ◽  
U. T. Oh ◽  
T. J. Brennan ◽  
M. J. Chandler ◽  
K. S. Kim ◽  
...  

Upper thoracic spinal neurons are primarily excited by cardiopulmonary spinal afferent input but are excited and inhibited by splanchnic afferent input. These data suggest that the greater the number of segments between a spinal neuron and spinal afferent input the greater the probability that the afferent input will inhibit the spinal neuron. Based on this idea we hypothesized that visceral (urinary bladder) and somatic (hindlimb) afferent input would inhibit upper thoracic spinal neurons. To test this hypothesis the activities of 69 spinal and 27 spinoreticular tract neurons in 45 alpha-chloralose-anesthetized cats were studied. Only neurons excited by both visceral and somatic thoracic afferent input were studied. Urinary bladder distension (UBD) inhibited 48 (50%), excited 6 (6%), and did not affect 41 (43%) of these neurons. Also, UBD inhibited the excitatory responses of these cells to noxious visceral and somatic stimuli. Hindlimb pinch also inhibited greater than 50% of the neurons. These data indicate that visceral and somatic afferent input to the lumbosacral spinal cord inhibits the activity of upper thoracic neurons. This inhibitory effect may play a role in localization of sensory and motor responses to noxious stimuli.


1989 ◽  
Vol 257 (5) ◽  
pp. H1543-H1550 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. C. Bolser ◽  
M. J. Chandler ◽  
D. W. Garrison ◽  
R. D. Foreman

The responses of thoracic spinal and spinoreticular tract (SRT) neurons to activation of cardiac spinal afferents by injections of bradykinin (BK) and capsaicin (CAP) into the left atrium or pericardial sac were determined in vagotomized cats anesthetized with alpha-chloralose. Activities of spinal and SRT neurons in the T1-T5 spinal cord were recorded extracellularly. All neurons received excitatory somatic and cardiopulmonary sympathetic afferent input. Application of BK and CAP to the heart excited most SRT neurons and many spinal neurons but also inhibited some spinal neurons. The two drugs often affected spinal but not SRT neurons differently. Capsaicin excited high threshold and high threshold inhibitory neurons but not wide-dynamic range spinal neurons. In contrast, BK excited all three categories of spinal and SRT neurons. The differential responses of spinal neurons to intracardiac BK and CAP suggested that these compounds can stimulate functionally different populations of cardiac sympathetic afferents.


2004 ◽  
Vol 1008 (2) ◽  
pp. 193-197 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chao Qin ◽  
Margaret J. Chandler ◽  
Robert D. Foreman

2010 ◽  
Vol 298 (6) ◽  
pp. G934-G942 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chao Qin ◽  
Anna P. Malykhina ◽  
Ann M. Thompson ◽  
Jay P. Farber ◽  
Robert D. Foreman

Gastroesophageal reflux (GER) frequently triggers or worsens cardiac pain or symptoms in patients with coronary heart disease. This study aimed to determine whether GER enhances the activity of upper thoracic spinal neurons receiving noxious cardiac input. Gastric fundus and pyloric ligations as well as a longitudinal myelotomy at the gastroesophageal junction induced acute GER in pentobarbital-anesthetized, paralyzed, and ventilated male Sprague-Dawley rats. Manual manipulations of the stomach and lower esophagus were used as surgical controls in another group. At 4–9 h after GER surgery, extracellular potentials of single neurons were recorded from the T3 spinal segment. Intrapericardial bradykinin (IB) (10 μg/ml, 0.2 ml, 1 min) injections were used to activate cardiac nociceptors, and esophageal distensions were used to activate esophageal afferent fibers. Significantly more spinal neurons in the GER group responded to IB compared with the control group (69.1 vs. 38%, P < 0.01). The proportion of IB-responsive neurons in the superficial laminae of GER animals was significantly different from those in deeper layers (1/8 vs. 46/60, P < 0.01); no difference was found in control animals (7/25 vs. 20/46, P > 0.05). Excitatory responses of spinal neurons to IB in the GER group were greater than in the control group [32.4 ± 3.5 impulses (imp)/s vs. 13.3 ± 2.3 imp/s, P < 0.01]. Forty-five of 47 (95.7%) neurons responded to cardiac input and ED, which was higher than the control group (61.5%, P < 0.01). These results indicate that acute GER enhanced the excitatory responses of thoracic spinal neurons in deeper laminae of the dorsal horn to noxious cardiac stimulus.


2004 ◽  
Vol 286 (6) ◽  
pp. R1069-R1076 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fang Lu ◽  
Chao Qin ◽  
Robert D. Foreman ◽  
Jay P. Farber

Chemical activation of upper cervical spinal neurons modulates activity of thoracic respiratory interneurons in rats. The aim of the present study was to examine the effects of chemical activation of C1-C2 spinal neurons on thoracic spinal respiratory motor outflows. Electroneurograms of left phrenic ( n = 23) and intercostal nerves (ICNs, n = 93) between T3 and T8 spinal segments were recorded from 36 decerebrated, vagotomized, paralyzed, and ventilated male rats. To activate upper cervical spinal neurons, glutamate pledgets (1 M, 1 min) were placed on the dorsal surface of the C1-C2 spinal cord. Glutamate on C1-C2 increased ICN tonic activity in 56/59 (95%) ICNs. The average maximal tonic activity of ICN was increased by 174% ( n = 59). After spinal transection at rostral C1, glutamate on C1-C2 still increased ICN tonic activity in 33/35 ICNs. However, the effects of C1-C2 glutamate on ICN phasic activity were highly variable, with observations of augmentation or suppression of both inspiratory and expiratory discharge. C1-C2 glutamate augmented the average amplitude of phrenic burst by 20%, whereas the increases in amplitude of ICN inspiratory activity, when they occurred, averaged 120%. The burst rate of phrenic nerve discharge was decreased from 34.2 ± 1.6 to 26.3 ± 2.0 (mean ± SE) breaths/min during C1-C2 glutamate. These data suggested that upper cervical propriospinal neurons might play a role in descending modulation of thoracic respiratory and nonrespiratory motor activity.


2004 ◽  
Vol 91 (5) ◽  
pp. 2227-2235 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chao Qin ◽  
Margaret J. Chandler ◽  
Chuanchau J. Jou ◽  
Robert D. Foreman

Because vagal and sympathetic inputs activate upper cervical spinal neurons, we hypothesized that stimulation of the esophagus would activate C1–C2 neurons. This study examined responses of C1–C2 spinal neurons to cervical and thoracic esophageal distension (CED, TED) and afferent pathways for CED and TED inputs to C1–C2 spinal neurons. Extracellular potentials of single C1–C2 spinal neurons were recorded in pentobarbital-anesthetized male rats. Graded CED or TED was produced by water inflation (0.1–0.5 ml) of a latex balloon. CED changed activity of 48/219 (22%) neurons; 34 were excited (E), 12 were inhibited (I), and 2 were E-I. CED elicited responses for 18/18 neurons tested after ipsilateral cervical vagotomy, for 12/14 neurons tested after bilateral vagotomy and for 9/11 neurons tested after bilateral vagotomy and C6–C7 spinal cord transection. TED changed activity of 31/190 (16%) neurons (28E, 3 I). Ipsilateral cervical vagotomy abolished TED-evoked responses of 5/12 neurons. Bilateral vagotomy eliminated responses of 2/4 neurons tested, and C6–C7 spinal transection plus bilateral vagotomy eliminated responses of 2/2 neurons. Thus inputs from CED to C1–C2 neurons most likely entered upper cervical dorsal roots, whereas inputs from TED were dependent on vagal pathways and/or sympathetic afferent pathways that entered the thoracic dorsal roots. These results supported a concept that C1–C2 spinal neurons play a role in integrating visceral information from cervical and thoracic esophagus.


Author(s):  
А.С. Казицкая ◽  
Т.К. Ядыкина ◽  
М.С. Бугаева ◽  
А.Г. Жукова ◽  
Н.Н. Михайлова ◽  
...  

В условиях непрерывного воздействия неблагоприятных факторов окружающей и производственной среды на человека особую актуальность приобретает изучение механизмов, поддерживающих гомеостаз организма. Длительное поступление фторидов в организм приводит к формированию хронической фтористой интоксикации, патогенез которой вызывает многочисленные споры и дискуссии. До сих пор недостаточно внимания уделяется изучению висцеральной патологии, обусловленной нарушениями иммунного статуса в условиях воздействия на организм соединений фтора. Практически отсутствуют исследования по изучению иммунной реактивности, определяющей морфофункциональный характер ответной реакции печени на ранних стадиях развития фтористой интоксикации. Цель работы - изучение действий патофизиологических механизмов иммунной реактивности печени при субхроническом действии на организм соединений фтора. Методика. Опыты проведены на 210 лабораторных крысах-самцах массой 180-220 г., разделенных на 2 группы: контрольную (n=80) и группу животных с субхроническим действием фторида натрия (n=130). Экспериментальные животные в течение 12 нед имели свободный доступ к водному раствору фторида натрия (концентрация 10 мг/л, что составляет суточную дозу фтора 1,2 мг/кг массы тела). Для изучения иммунологических и биохимических показателей забирали кровь из хвостовой вены через 1, 3, 6, 9, 12 нед от начала эксперимента. Для оценки состояния гуморального звена иммунитета определяли уровень сывороточных иммуноглобулинов (IgA, IgG, IgM) иммуноферментным анализом с помощью наборов реактивов ЗАО «Вектор-Бест» (Новосибирск). Уровень сывороточных цитокинов: TNF-α, IL-1β, 2, 4, 6, 10 определяли на анализаторе Multiskan EX методом иммуноферментного анализа с использованием наборов «Вектор Бест» (Новосибирск). Подсчет общего количества лейкоцитов произведен классическим способом в камере Горяева, анализ лейкоцитарной формулы - в окрашенных мазках периферической крови. Метаболические изменения оценивали по активности ферментов в ткани печени: щелочной фосфатазы (ЩФ), аланин- и аспартатаминотрансфераз (АЛТ, АСТ), лактатдегидрогеназы (ЛДГ), гаммаглутамилтранспептидазы (γ-ГТ). Активность ферментов определяли унифицированными методами с помощью наборов реактивов ЗАО «Вектор-Бест» (Новосибирск) на фотометре PM-750 (Германия). Гистологические исследования печени осуществляли после декапитации крыс, проводимой под эфирным наркозом. Результаты. Показано, что субхроническое воздействие фторида натрия сопровождается формированием внутриклеточных и внутрисосудистых повреждений печени. Активация медиаторов воспаления и развитие иммунологических нарушений в динамике эксперимента способствуют формированию системной воспалительной реакции, которая приводит к появлению стойких морфологических нарушений в печени и изменению активности ферментов основных метаболических путей. Заключение. Полученные результаты могут быть использованы при разработке и проведении профилактических мероприятий в условиях воздействия на организм высоких концентраций фтора с последовательным применением детоксикационной, иммуномодуляторной и органопротекторной коррекции. Studying mechanisms, which maintain the body homeostasis, is particularly important in the conditions of continuous impact of adverse environmental and manufacturing factors. Long-term exposure to fluorides leads to chronic fluoric intoxication, the pathogenesis of which is a subject of multiple controversy and discussions. Not enough attention is still paid to elucidating the visceral pathology associated with fluorine-induced immune disorders. There are virtually no studies of immune reactions that define the morphofunctional nature of the liver response to early stages of fluoric intoxication. Aim. To study pathophysiological mechanisms of hepatic immune reactivity in subchronic exposure of the body to fluorine compounds. Methods. Experiments were performed on 210 male rats weighing 180-220 g. The animals were divided into two groups: 1) control (n=80) and 2) subchronic exposure to sodium fluoride (n=130). The rats had free access to a 10 mg/l aqueous solution of sodium fluoride (daily dose, 1.2 mg/kg body weight) for 12 weeks. Blood was withdrawn from the caudal vein at 1, 3, 6, 9, and 12 weeks of the experiment for immunological and biochemical tests. Histological study of the liver was performed after decapitation of rats under ether anesthesia. Results. The subchronic exposure to sodium fluoride was associated with intracellular and intravascular damage of the liver. Activation of inflammatory mediators and development of immunological disorders during the experiment contributed to a systemic inflammatory reaction, which resulted in persistent morphological injuries of the liver and changes in enzyme activities in major metabolic pathways. Conclusion. The study results can be used for development and implementation of preventive measures against the effects of high fluorine concentrations, which would include a successive use of detoxification, immunomodulation and organ protection.


2011 ◽  
Vol 165 (2) ◽  
pp. 168-177 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marie Louise M. Ghorbani ◽  
Chao Qin ◽  
Mingyuan Wu ◽  
Jay P. Farber ◽  
Majid Sheykhzade ◽  
...  

1986 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 183-187 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. J. Sutton ◽  
A. J. Darby ◽  
P. Johnson ◽  
G. B. Leslie ◽  
T. F. Walker

Prizidilol (SK&F 92657-A2), an anti-hypertensive agent, has undergone a range of prescribed toxicity studies required for the investigation of possible adverse drug effects. During the second year of the 2-year rat oral study, a variety of symptoms were exhibited by males receiving 1600 mg of the compound day–1kg–1 by gavage. These animals became lethargic, slouched and developed dyspnoea which became progressively more severe during the course of the study. Necropsy of the affected rats revealed severely haemorrhagic lungs, cardiac hypertrophy and lordosis of the spine into the thoracic cavity. At the 2-year terminal kill, a proportion of the male rats receiving 100 and 400 mg of prizidilol day–1kg–1 were identified with similar but less severe spinal deformation. No female was found with spinal changes but all the rats receiving prizidilol showed haemorrhagic lungs and enlarged hearts. The lordosis of the affected males was always confined to the thoracic spine and this, along with the cardiac hypertrophy, presumably led to marked reduction in the volume of the thoracic cavity, inducing the dyspnoea. Thoracic vertebral body damage, possibly a precursor to the spinal deformities, was found in male rats from both drug-treated and control groups. The nature of the spinal lesion is at present under investigation.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document