title: NADPH-diaphorase activity and c-fos expression in medullary neurons after fatiguing stimulation of hindlimb muscles in the rat.
abstract: In anaesthetised rats, Fos-immunoreactive and NADPH-diaphorase-positive neurons in the medulla and, for comparison, in the spinal cord were studied after fatiguing stimulation of the hindlimb muscles. Following both direct muscle stimulation and L5 ventral root stimulation, fatigue-related c-fos gene expression was most prominent in the dorsal horn of the ipsilateral L2-L5 segments and within the ipsilateral nucleus tractus solitarius, the caudoventrolateral and rostroventrolateral reticular nuclei, and the intermediate reticular nucleus at levels of -14.3 and -13.8 mm, and contralaterally at -13.2 mm caudal to the bregma. The order of intensity of c-fos expression was as follows: nucleus tractus solitarius>caudoventrolateral and rostroventrolateral reticular nuclei>intermediate reticular nucleus>lateral paragigantocellular nucleus. NADPH-diaphorase reactivity was changed in the following sequence: NTS>intermediate reticular nucleus lateral paragigantocellular nucleus>rostroventrolateral reticular nucleus. Fos-immunoreactive neurons were codistributed with NADPH-diaphorase-reactive cells within the dorsomedial and ventrolateral medulla, and double-staining neurons were found in the nucleus tractus solitarius, intermediate reticular nucleus and lateral paragigantocellular nucleus. The patterns of distribution of c-fos expression and NADPH-diaphorase reactivity show that afferent signals arising from fatiguing muscles may activate spinal and medullary neurons which are involved in nociceptive and cardiovascular reflex pathways. The functional role of nitric oxide (NO) in the generation of cardiovascular and somatosensory responses in the medulla during fatigue of skeletal muscles is discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Movement Physiology, Bogomoletz Institute of Physiology, National Academy of Sciences, Kiev, Ukraine.
authors.forename: Vladimir A
authors.initials: VA
authors.lastname: Maisky
authors.forename: Alexander I
authors.initials: AI
authors.lastname: Pilyavskii
authors.forename: Ivana
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Kalezic
authors.forename: Milos
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ljubisavljevic
authors.forename: Alexander I
authors.initials: AI
authors.lastname: Kostyukov
authors.forename: Uwe
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Windhorst
authors.forename: Håkan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Johansson
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017704:Baroreflex; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology; D006614:Hindlimb / Q000502:physiology; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D008526:Medulla Oblongata / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D009119:Muscle Contraction / Q000502:physiology; D018763:Muscle Fatigue / Q000502:physiology; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000294:innervation / Q000502:physiology*; D009252:NADPH Dehydrogenase / Q000378:metabolism*; D009474:Neurons / Q000737:chemistry / Q000201:enzymology*; D016760:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D013126:Spinal Nerve Roots / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D016760:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos; D009252:NADPH Dehydrogenase