Riluzole suppresses post-sigh, but not spontaneous apnoeas during sleep in rats.
We conducted this experiment to determine the role of glutamate in the mechanism of sleep apnoeas by administering riluzole, a glutamate release inhibitor, to freely moving rats in which sleep-related apnoeas are physiological phenomena. Adult Sprague-Dawley rats were implanted with electrodes for electroencephalogram (EEG) and electromyogram (EMG) recording to monitor sleep and were placed inside a single-chamber plethysmograph to monitor respiration. Sleep and respiration were recorded for 6 h following intraperitoneal administration of 0.5, 5.0 and 10.0 mg kg(-1) riluzole. Riluzole dose-dependently suppressed post-sigh apnoeas during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep but had no effect on sleep-related spontaneous apnoeas. The drug (5.0 and 10.0 mg kg(-1)) also dose-dependently reduced wakefulness and increased sleep. It appears that glutamate, an excitatory neurotransmitter, plays a role in the genesis of the post-sigh apnoeas during REM sleep.
Radulovacki
M
M
Department of Pharmacology, University of Illinois at Chicago, 60612, USA. mradulo@uic.edu
Pavlovic
S
S
Rakic
A
A
Janelidze
M
M
Shermulis
L
L
Carley
D W
DW
D000818:Animals; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D018691:Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D017470:Receptors, Glutamate / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D019782:Riluzole / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D012891:Sleep Apnea Syndromes / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D012895:Sleep, REM / Q000187:drug effects; D014851:Wakefulness / Q000187:drug effects
D018691:Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists; D017470:Receptors, Glutamate; D019782:Riluzole