ABSTRACT
Increased blood pressure in hypertension is hypothesized to be caused by high sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activity. Since Ang (1-7) exerts an inhibitory neuromodulatory effect on the SNS through a NO-mediated mechanism, we tested the hypothesis that Ang (1-7) alters centrally nitric oxide synthase (NOS) activity and expression in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). Since NOS activity is altered in relation to the development of hypertension in rats, we evaluated the effect of Ang-(1-7) on hypothalamic NOS activity in two different ages in SHR, corresponding to a prehypertensive phase (3-4 weeks) and a established hypertension (13-14 weeks) and compared with age-matched Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats. NOS activity was measured by the conversion of [³H]L-arginine to citrulline. Ang-(1-7) caused an impairment in NOS activity in prehypertensive SHR (26 ± 4% reduction), while it induced an increase in NOS activity at established hypertension (48 ± 9% increase). In contrast, Ang-(1-7) did not modify NOS activity in age-matched WKY rats. In another set of experiments, Ang-(1-7) was injected into the anterior hypothalamic area, mean arterial blood pressure (MAP) was registered and after 30, 60 and 180 min nNOS expression was evaluated by Western-blot. Ang-(1-7) decreased MAP after 10 min of injection and this effect was blocked by a NOS inhibitor. nNOS expression increased after 180 min of Ang-(1-7) intrahypothalamic injection in both WKY and SHR (WKY: 3.6-fold increase above basal; SHR: 1.85-fold increase above basal). Our results suggest that Ang-(1-7) upregulates hypothalamic NOS in a hypertensive state as a compensatory and protective mechanism to combat hypertension.
Subject(s)
Angiotensin I/pharmacology , Hypertension/enzymology , Hypothalamus/drug effects , Nitric Oxide Synthase Type I/metabolism , Peptide Fragments/pharmacology , Up-Regulation/drug effects , Animals , Blood Pressure/drug effects , Hypothalamus/enzymology , Male , Rats , Rats, Inbred SHR , Rats, Inbred WKYABSTRACT
High-frequency stimulation (HFS) of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) alleviates the cardinal symptoms of Parkinson's disease, but the mechanisms underlying these clinical results remain to be clarified. The HFS of STN is associated with the release of dopamine (DA) in the striatum. This study examines possible mechanisms by which HFS-STN release DA. The experiments were performed in rats anesthetized with urethane. The STN was stimulated by electrical HF and chemical microinjections of an antagonist and an agonist of GABA(A) receptors, the bicuculline, and the muscimol, respectively. The extracellular striatal DA-DOPAC (3-4-dihydroxyphenilacetic acid) content was collected by means of intracerebral microdialysis cannula and analyzed with HPLC with an electrochemical detector. The HFS of STN and microinjection of bicuculline intrasubthalamic produced a significant increase of extracellular striatal DA, whereas DOPAC levels were unchanged. The microinjection of muscimol depresses spontaneous release of DA, without changes in DOPAC. The kainic acid lesion of the globus pallidus (GP) and the substantia nigra pars reticulata (SNr), ipsilateral to dialyzed striatum, did not modify the release of DA-DOPAC. These data provide evidence that the STN has a tonic action on the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc), and the release of striatal DA by HFS-STN may be due to activation of the STN acting directly on SNc neurons.
Subject(s)
Corpus Striatum/metabolism , Dopamine/metabolism , Neural Pathways/physiology , Substantia Nigra/physiology , Subthalamic Nucleus/physiology , Animals , Electric Stimulation Therapy/methods , GABA Antagonists/pharmacology , GABA-A Receptor Agonists/pharmacology , Male , Neural Pathways/drug effects , Rats , Rats, Sprague-Dawley , Substantia Nigra/drug effects , Subthalamic Nucleus/drug effectsABSTRACT
Objetivo: Evaluar el papel del área hipotalámica anterior en la regulación de la presión arterial en un modelo en ratas de hipertensión arterial (HTA) e insulinorresistencia. Material y métodos: Se utilizaron ratas Sprague-Dawley macho (n = 72) que fueron divididas en dos grupos: F,fructosa (10 por ciento p/v por 6 semanas) y C, grupo control. Se canuló la arteria carótida izquierda para la medición de la presión arterial media (PAM) y la frecuencia cardíaca (FC). Se colocó una sonda de microdiálisis en el área hipotalámica anterior (AHA) para la perfusión de yohimbina (10 y 100 µg/ml) o de clonidina (100 y 300 µg/ml), antagonista y agonista α2-adrenérgicos, respectivamente, y se evaluaron los cambios hemodinámicos. Resultados: Los animales del grupo F presentaron niveles mayores de presión arterial sistólica que los del grupo C (F: 131 ± 3 mm Hg versus C: 112 ± 4 mm Hg; p < 0,05). La perfusión intrahipotalámica de yohimbina indujo un incremento en la PAM en C, en tanto que no modificó los valores en F. No se encontraron cambios en la FC en ninguno de los grupos. La clonidina en dosis de 100 µg/ml indujo una disminución de la PAM sólo en F, mientras que en dosis de300 µg/ml la disminuyó en ambos grupos y fue mayor en F que en C. Sólo la clonidina en dosis de 300 µg/ml disminuyó la FC en el grupo F, sin modificar los valores en C. Conclusiones: Existiría un tono α2-adrenérgico menor en el AHA de las ratas F, que podría relacionarse con el incremento de la presión arterial presente en este grupo. Por otra parte, la respuesta exacerbada a la clonidina en F evidenciaría la existencia de una supersensibilidad de receptores adrenérgicos hipotalámicos, posiblemente como consecuencia de niveles extracelulares reducidos de noradrenalina en el AHA en este modelo de HTA e insulinorresistencia.