title: Enhanced sympathetic reactivity to glutamate stimulation in medulla oblongata of spontaneously hypertensive rats.
abstract: The distribution and reactivity of vasomotor sites in the ventrolateral (VLM) and dorsomedial medulla (DMM) of stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRSP), spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR), and Wistar-Kyoto rats (WKY) were compared. Rats were anesthetized with alpha-chloralose and urethan. Baroreceptor denervation and vagotomy were performed. L-Glutamate (Glu, 10 mM, 30 nl) was microinjected into the DMM or VLM to identify vasoactive sites. The extent and the patterns of distribution of these sites in the three strains of rats were similar. The dose-response curve of the vasoactive site was studied with 1-500 pmol of Glu. The maximum responses of blood pressure and renal sympathetic activity were larger and threshold doses of Glu were lower in hypertensive rats. The significance of the differences among the strains was analyzed before and after adjustment for baseline pressure or activity. Most of the differences were statistically significant before baseline adjustment. After baseline adjustment, many differences between the SHRSP and the WKY remained significant. However, the only significant difference detected between the SHR and the WKY was the threshold dose for eliciting renal sympathetic change in the caudal VLM. These results suggest that there may be a general increase in excitability of the vasomotor neurons in the medulla of the hypertensive rats.
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Republic of China.
authors.forename: T L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: C Y
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Chai
authors.forename: C T
authors.initials: CT
authors.lastname: Yen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001794:Blood Pressure; D001931:Brain Mapping; D002561:Cerebrovascular Disorders; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D018698:Glutamic Acid / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006973:Hypertension / Q000503:physiopathology*; D007668:Kidney / Q000294:innervation; D008297:Male; D008526:Medulla Oblongata / Q000503:physiopathology*; D009474:Neurons / Q000473:pathology; D051381:Rats; D011918:Rats, Inbred SHR; D011921:Rats, Inbred WKY; D012146:Rest; D013564:Sympathetic Nervous System / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000503:physiopathology; D014666:Vasomotor System / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology
chemical_list: D018698:Glutamic Acid