GABAergic Pump Cells of Solitary Tract Nucleus Innervate Retrotrapezoid Nucleus Chemoreceptors

2007 ◽  
Vol 98 (1) ◽  
pp. 374-381 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana C. Takakura ◽  
Thiago S. Moreira ◽  
Gavin H. West ◽  
Justin M. Gwilt ◽  
Eduardo Colombari ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Area Postrema ◽  
Inhibitory Neurons ◽  
Acid Decarboxylase ◽  
Solitary Tract ◽  
Vagus Nerves ◽  
Toxin B ◽  
Lung Inflation ◽  
Retrotrapezoid Nucleus ◽  
Nucleus Of Solitary Tract ◽  
Tracheal Pressure

The retrotrapezoid nucleus (RTN) contains central respiratory chemoreceptors that are inhibited by activation of slowly adapting pulmonary stretch receptors (SARs). Here we examine whether RTN inhibition by lung inflation could be mediated by a direct projection from SAR second-order neurons (pump cells). Pump cells ( n = 56 neurons, 13 rats) were recorded in the nucleus of solitary tract (NTS) of halothane-anesthetized rats with intact vagus nerves. Pump cells had discharges that coincided with lung inflation as monitored by the tracheal pressure. Their activity increased when end-expiratory pressure was raised and stopped instantly when ventilation was interrupted in expiration. Many pump cells could be antidromically activated from RTN (12/36). Nine of those were labeled with biotinamide. Of these nine cells, eight contained glutamic acid decarboxylase 67 (GAD67) mRNA and seven were found to reside in the lower half of the interstitial subnucleus of NTS (iNTS). Using the retrograde tracer cholera toxin-B, we confirmed that neurons located in or close to iNTS innervate RTN (two rats). Many such neurons contained GAD67 mRNA and a few contained glycine transporter2 (GLYT2) mRNA. Anterograde tract tracing with biotinylated dextranamide (four rats) applied to iNTS also confirmed that this region innervates RTN by a predominantly GABAergic projection. This work confirms that many rat NTS pump cells are located in and around the interstitial subnucleus at area postrema level. We demonstrate that a GABAergic subset of these pump cells innervates the RTN region. We conclude that these inhibitory neurons probably contact RTN chemoreceptors and mediate their inhibition by lung inflation.

Effects of area postrema/caudal medial nucleus of solitary tract lesions on food intake and body weight

1983 ◽  
Vol 244 (4) ◽  
pp. R577-R587 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. M. Hyde ◽  
R. R. Miselis
Keyword(s):  
Body Weight ◽  
Area Postrema ◽  
Body Weight Loss ◽  
Solitary Tract ◽  
Medial Nucleus ◽  
Nucleus Of Solitary Tract ◽  
Lower Body Weight ◽  
High Fat Diets ◽  
Fat Diets ◽  
Dorsal Medulla

Lesions of the area postrema/caudal medial nucleus of the solitary tract (AP/cmNTS), located on the surface of the dorsal medulla of the rat, cause a transient syndrome of hypophagia and body weight loss, with the establishment of a new growth curve at a lower body weight set point. The regulatory responses to prolonged food deprivation, glucoprivic stimulation, and chronic access to a palatable diet are left largely intact. However, there is an overconsumption of highly palatable foods during acute exposure to supermarket and high-fat diets. Intestinal transit and gastric retention are unaffected by the lesion, indicating normal motor function within the gastrointestinal system. The hypophagia and chronic depression of body weight by the AP/cmNTS lesion demonstrate that this area is an important part of the larger neurocircuitry subserving feeding behavior and energy balance.

Activation of 5-Hydroxytryptamine Type 3 Receptor-Expressing C-Fiber Vagal Afferents Inhibits Retrotrapezoid Nucleus Chemoreceptors in Rats

2007 ◽  
Vol 98 (6) ◽  
pp. 3627-3637 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thiago S. Moreira ◽  
Ana C. Takakura ◽  
Eduardo Colombari ◽  
Patrice G. Guyenet
Keyword(s):  
Inhibitory Effect ◽  
Vagal Afferents ◽  
Solitary Tract Nucleus ◽  
Solitary Tract ◽  
Lung Inflation ◽  
Retrotrapezoid Nucleus ◽  
Carotid Bodies ◽  
C Fiber ◽  
Limited Degree ◽  
Type 3

Retrotrapezoid nucleus (RTN) chemoreceptors are regulated by inputs from the carotid bodies (CB) and from pulmonary mechanoreceptors. Here we tested whether RTN neurons are influenced by 5-hydroxytryptamine type 3 receptor-expressing C-fiber vagal afferents. In urethan-anesthetized rats, selective activation of vagal C-fiber afferents by phenylbiguanide (PBG) eliminated the phrenic nerve discharge (PND) and inhibited RTN neurons ( n = 24). PBG had no inhibitory effect in vagotomized rats. Muscimol injection into the solitary tract nucleus, commissural part, reduced inhibition of PND and RTN by PBG (73%), blocked activation of PND and RTN by CB stimulation (cyanide) but had no effect on inhibition of PND and RTN by lung inflation. Bilateral injections of muscimol into interstitial solitary tract nucleus (NTS) reduced the inhibition of PND and RTN by PBG (53%), blocked the inhibitory effects of lung inflation but did not change the activation of PND and RTN neurons by CB stimulation. PBG and lung inflation activated postinspiratory neurons located within the rostral ventral respiratory group (rVRG) and inhibited inspiratory and expiratory neurons. Bilateral injections of muscimol into rVRG eliminated PND and partially decreased RTN neuron inhibition by PBG (32%). In conclusion, activation of cardiopulmonary C-fiber afferents inhibits the activity of RTN chemoreceptors. The pathway relays within a broad medial region of the NTS and involves the rVRG to a limited degree. The apnea triggered by activation of cardiopulmonary C-fiber afferents may be due in part to a reduction of the activity of RTN chemoreceptors.

Physiological Properties of Late Inspiratory Neurons and Their Possible Involvement in Inspiratory Off-Switching in Cats

2002 ◽  
Vol 87 (2) ◽  
pp. 1057-1067 ◽  
Author(s):  
Akira Haji ◽  
Mari Okazaki ◽  
Hiromi Yamazaki ◽  
Ryuji Takeda
Keyword(s):  
Nmda Receptors ◽  
Gaba Release ◽  
Membrane Depolarization ◽  
Inhibitory Neurons ◽  
Acid Decarboxylase ◽  
Postsynaptic Potentials ◽  
Inspiratory Neurons ◽  
Small Constant ◽  
Physiological Properties ◽  
Decerebrate Cats

To assess the functional significance of late inspiratory (late-I) neurons in inspiratory off-switching (IOS), membrane potential and discharge properties were examined in vagotomized, decerebrate cats. During spontaneous IOS, late-I neurons displayed large membrane depolarization and associated discharge of action potentials that started in late inspiration, peaked at the end of inspiration, and ended during postinspiration. Depolarization was decreased by iontophoresis of dizocilpine and eliminated by tetrodotoxin. Stimulation of the vagus nerve or the nucleus parabrachialis medialis (NPBM) also evoked depolarization of late-I neurons and IOS. Waves of spontaneous chloride-dependent inhibitory postsynaptic potentials (IPSPs) preceded membrane depolarization during early inspiration and followed during postinspiration and stage 2 expiration of the respiratory cycle. Iontophoresed bicuculline depressed the IPSPs. Intravenous dizocilpine caused a greatly prolonged inspiratory discharge of the phrenic nerve (apneusis) and suppressed late-inspiratory depolarization as well as early-inspiratory IPSPs, resulting in a small constant depolarization throughout the apneusis. NPBM or vagal stimulation after dizocilpine produced small, stimulus-locked excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs) in late-I neurons. Neurobiotin-labeled late-I neurons revealed immunoreactivity for glutamic acid decarboxylase as well as N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptors. These results suggest that late-I neurons are GABAergic inhibitory neurons, while the effects of bicuculline and dizocilpine indicate that they receive periodic waves of GABAergic IPSPs and glutamatergic EPSPs. The data lead to the conclusion that late-I neurons play an important inhibitory role in IOS. NMDA receptors are assumed to augment and/or synchronize late-inspiratory depolarization and discharge of late-I neurons, leading to GABA release and consequently off-switching of bulbar inspiratory neurons and phrenic motoneurons.

scholarly journals Kv1.3 channels regulate synaptic transmission in the nucleus of solitary tract

2011 ◽  
Vol 105 (6) ◽  
pp. 2772-2780 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angelina Ramirez-Navarro ◽  
Patricia A. Glazebrook ◽  
Michelle Kane-Sutton ◽  
Caroline Padro ◽  
David D. Kline ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Action Potential ◽  
Transmitter Release ◽  
Brain Slices ◽  
Presynaptic Terminal ◽  
Solitary Tract ◽  
Sensory Afferents ◽  
Peripheral Neurons ◽  
C Fibers ◽  
Nodose Ganglia ◽  
Nucleus Of Solitary Tract

The voltage-gated K+ channel Kv1.3 has been reported to regulate transmitter release in select central and peripheral neurons. In this study, we evaluated its role at the synapse between visceral sensory afferents and secondary neurons in the nucleus of the solitary tract (NTS). We identified mRNA and protein for Kv1.3 in rat nodose ganglia using RT-PCR and Western blot analysis. In immunohistochemical experiments, anti-Kv1.3 immunoreactivity was very strong in internal organelles in the soma of nodose neurons with a weaker distribution near the plasma membrane. Anti-Kv1.3 was also identified in the axonal branches that project centrally, including their presynaptic terminals in the medial and commissural NTS. In current-clamp experiments, margatoxin (MgTx), a high-affinity blocker of Kv1.3, produced an increase in action potential duration in C-type but not A- or Ah-type neurons. To evaluate the role of Kv1.3 at the presynaptic terminal, we examined the effect of MgTx on tract evoked monosynaptic excitatory postsynaptic currents (EPSCs) in brain slices of the NTS. MgTx increased the amplitude of evoked EPSCs in a subset of neurons, with the major increase occurring during the first stimuli in a 20-Hz train. These data, together with the results from somal recordings, support the hypothesis that Kv1.3 regulates the duration of the action potential in the presynaptic terminal of C fibers, limiting transmitter release to the postsynaptic cell.

Ozone enhances excitabilities of pulmonary C fibers to chemical and mechanical stimuli in anesthetized rats

1998 ◽  
Vol 85 (4) ◽  
pp. 1509-1515 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ching-Yin Ho ◽  
Lu-Yuan Lee
Keyword(s):  
Low Dose ◽  
Acute Exposure ◽  
Right Atrial ◽  
Mechanical Stimuli ◽  
Lung Inflation ◽  
C Fibers ◽  
Arterial Blood ◽  
Baseline Activity ◽  
Tracheal Pressure ◽  
C Fiber

Acute exposure to ozone (O3) enhances pulmonary chemoreflex response to capsaicin, and an increased sensitivity of bronchopulmonary C-fiber afferent endings may be involved. The present study was aimed at determining the effect of O3 on the responses of pulmonary C fibers to chemical and mechanical stimuli. A total of 31 C fibers were studied in anesthetized, open-chest, and vagotomized rats. During control, right atrial injection of a low dose of capsaicin abruptly evoked a short and mild burst of discharge [0.77 ± 0.28 impulses (imp)/s, 2-s average]. After acute exposure to O3 (3 parts/million for 30 min), there was no significant change in arterial blood pressure, tracheal pressure, or baseline activity of C fibers. However, the stimulatory effect of the same dose of capsaicin on these fibers was markedly enhanced (6.05 ± 0.88 impulses/s; P < 0.01) and prolonged immediately after O3 exposure, and returned toward control in 54 ± 6 min. Similarly, the pulmonary C-fiber response to injection of a low dose of lactic acid was also elevated after O3 exposure. Furthermore, O3 exposure significantly potentiated the C-fiber response to constant-pressure (tracheal pressure = 30 cmH2O) lung inflation (control: 0.19 ± 0.07 imp/s; after O3: 1.12 ± 0.26 imp/s; P < 0.01). In summary, these results show that the excitabilities of pulmonary C-fiber afferents to lung inflation and injections of chemical stimulants are markedly potentiated after acute exposure to O3, suggesting a possible involvement of these afferents in the O3-induced changes in breathing pattern and chest discomfort in humans.

scholarly journals Effect of upper airway negative pressure on inspiratory drive during sleep

1998 ◽  
Vol 84 (3) ◽  
pp. 1063-1075 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. R. Eastwood ◽  
A. K. Curran ◽  
C. A. Smith ◽  
J. A. Dempsey
Keyword(s):  
Eye Movement ◽  
Rem Sleep ◽  
Negative Pressure ◽  
Upper Airway ◽  
Resistive Load ◽  
Rapid Eye Movement ◽  
Inhibitory Effects ◽  
Lung Inflation ◽  
Tracheal Occlusion ◽  
Tracheal Pressure

To determine the effect of upper airway (UA) negative pressure and collapse during inspiration on regulation of breathing, we studied four unanesthetized female dogs during wakefulness and sleep while they breathed via a fenestrated tracheostomy tube, which was sealed around the permanent tracheal stoma. The snout was sealed with an airtight mask, thereby isolating the UA when the fenestration (Fen) was closed and exposing the UA to intrathoracic pressure changes, but not to flow changes, when Fen was open. During tracheal occlusion with Fen closed, inspiratory time (Ti) increased during wakefulness, non-rapid-eye-movement (NREM) sleep and rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep (155 ± 8, 164 ± 11, and 161 ± 32%, respectively), reflecting the removal of inhibitory lung inflation reflexes. During tracheal occlusion with Fen open (vs. Fen closed): 1) the UA remained patent; 2) Ti further increased during wakefulness and NREM (215 ± 52 and 197 ± 28%, respectively) but nonsignificantly during REM sleep (196 ± 42%); 3) mean rate of rise of diaphragm EMG (EMGdi/Ti) and rate of fall of tracheal pressure (Ptr/Ti) were decreased, reflecting an additional inhibitory input from UA receptors; and 4) both EMGdi/Ti and Ptr/Ti were decreased proportionately more as inspiration proceeded, suggesting greater reflex inhibition later in the effort. Similar inhibitory effects of exposing the UA to negative pressure (via an open tracheal Fen) were seen when an inspiratory resistive load was applied over several breaths during wakefulness and sleep. These inhibitory effects persisted even in the face of rising chemical stimuli. This inhibition of inspiratory motor output is alinear within an inspiration and reflects the activation of UA pressure-sensitive receptors by UA distortion, with greater distortion possibly occurring later in the effort.

Meal-related stimuli differentially induce c-Fos activation in the nucleus of the solitary tract

2001 ◽  
Vol 280 (5) ◽  
pp. R1315-R1321 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Emond ◽  
Gary J. Schwartz ◽  
Timothy H. Moran
Keyword(s):  
Gastrointestinal Tract ◽  
Oral Cavity ◽  
Area Postrema ◽  
Prior Experience ◽  
Liquid Diet ◽  
Neural Activation ◽  
Solitary Tract ◽  
Multiple Levels ◽  
Meal Ingestion ◽  
Upper Gastrointestinal

Feedback signals arising from the oral cavity and upper gastrointestinal tract contribute to the control of meal size. To assess how these signals are integrated at central sites involved in ingestive control, we compared levels of c-Fos activation in the nucleus of the solitary tract (NTS) and area postrema (AP) in response to meal ingestion or gastric and duodenal infusions in the rat. Ingestion of a liquid diet to satiety induced significant fos-like immunoreactivity (FLI) at multiple levels of the NTS and within the AP. The restriction of intake to one-half the normal ingestion of a rat did not result in significant FLI, although gastric infusion of this liquid diet volume did. Fast bolus infusion resulted in greater FLI than did the same volume infused at a rate to mimic that of normal ingestion. Prior experience with gastric infusions did not affect the amounts of FLI within the NTS or AP. In rats with pyloric cuffs blocking flow from the stomach to the intestine, combined gastric load and duodenal nutrient elicited significantly greater FLI than either gastric or duodenal infusions alone. These data demonstrate that neural activation arising from meal-related stimuli are integrated at the level of the NTS.

Medullary pathways mediating depressor responses from Na(+)-sensitive sites in nucleus of the solitary tract

1997 ◽  
Vol 272 (1) ◽  
pp. R126-R133 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. L. Hochstenbach ◽  
J. Ciriello
Keyword(s):  
Area Postrema ◽  
Cardiovascular Response ◽  
Nucleus Ambiguus ◽  
Ventrolateral Medulla ◽  
Cell Group ◽  
Motor Nucleus ◽  
Solitary Tract ◽  
Male Wistar Rats ◽  
Efferent Projections ◽  
Series Of Experiments

Two series of experiments were done in male Wistar rats to investigate the medullary pathways that mediate the depressor responses from sodium-sensitive sites in the nucleus of the solitary tract (NTS). In the first series, the anterograde tract tracer Phaseolus vulgaris leucoagglutinin (PHA-L) was iontophoresed unilaterally at sites in the NTS at which microinjections (20 nl) of a 154-175 mM NaCl solution elicited depressor responses. PHA-L injection sites were found to be localized within the medial subnucleus of the NTS (Sm). In the medulla, PHA-L-labeled fibers and presumptive terminal boutons were observed bilaterally, but with an ipsilateral predominance, throughout the rostrocaudal extent of the NTS the dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus, area postrema, the ventrolateral medulla (VLM), and nucleus ambiguus. The pontine region, containing the A5 catecholaminergic cell group and the parabrachial nucleus, also received projections from Sm. In the second series of experiments, the effect of blocking synaptic transmission in VLM with cobalt chloride (CoCl2; 5 mM, 100 nl) on the cardiovascular response elicited by microinjection (20 nl) of hypertonic saline (154-175 mM) into the ipsilateral Sm was investigated in the alpha-chloralose-anesthetized, paralyzed, and artificially ventilated rat. Microinjection of CoCl2 into VLM, at sites shown in the previous study to receive efferent projections from Sm, significantly attenuated the depressor (60%) and bradycardic (80%) responses to stimulation of Sm. These data indicate that the sodium-sensitive region of the caudal Sm innervates VLM neurons and suggest that these VLM neurons are involved in mediating the depressor and bradycardic responses elicited by changes in the extracellular concentration of sodium.

Area postrema and adjacent nucleus of the solitary tract in water and sodium balance

1984 ◽  
Vol 247 (1) ◽  
pp. R173-R182 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. M. Hyde ◽  
R. R. Miselis
Keyword(s):  
Water Deprivation ◽  
Area Postrema ◽  
Sodium Balance ◽  
Solitary Tract ◽  
Nacl Solution ◽  
Medial Nucleus

Lesions of the area postrema (AP) and adjacent caudal medial nucleus of the solitary tract (cmNTS) cause significant changes in water and sodium balance. Lesioned rats display a permanent polydipsia, which in part is due to a primary polyuria. Water-to-food ratios are elevated chronically. Lesioned rats are unable to concentrate their urine as well as controls. In addition, lesioned rats overdrink in response to 24-h water deprivation. This lesion also causes a natriuresis and an overconsumption of 3% NaCl solution. These findings establish the AP-cmNTS as an important part of the neurocircuitry underlying water and sodium balance.

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