title: Respiratory and circulatory effects of parietal pleural afferent stimulation in rabbits.
abstract: Respiratory symptoms accompanying pleural diseases combine dyspnea, tachypnea, rapid shallow breathing, and sometimes hypotension. There are no experimental data on the changes in respiratory and circulatory functions elicited by the activation of pleural afferents. After removal of all muscles covering the 5th to 10th intercostal spaces, we investigated in paralyzed, vagotomized rabbits the changes in phrenic discharge, transpulmonary pressure, and systemic arterial pressure in response to an outwardly directed force exerted on the parietal pleura or the local application of solutions containing lactic acid or inflammatory mediators. Mechanical stimulation of the pleura induced an immediate decrease in both integrated phrenic discharge and arterial blood pressure, the responses being positively correlated with the magnitude of force applied on the pleura. No accompanying changes in ventilatory timing, transpulmonary pressure, or heart rate were measured. Lactic acid solution also elicited an inhibition of phrenic activity and a fall in blood pressure. Section of the internal intercostal nerves supplying the stimulated intercostal spaces totally abolished the responses to mechanical stimulation or lactic acid. An inflammatory mixture elicited only modest respiratory and circulatory effects. We concluded that an acute mechanical distension of the parietal pleura as well as its chemical stimulation by lactic acid elicit a marked inhibition of phrenic motoneurons combined to a reduction of the sympathetic outflow to the circulatory system.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Physiopathologie Respiratoire (Unité Propre de Recherche de l'Enseignement Supérieur, Equipe d'Accueil 2201), Institut Jean Roche, Faculté de Médecine, Université de la Méditerranée, Marseille, France. jammes.y@jean-roche.univ-mrs.fr
authors.forename: Yves
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Jammes
authors.forename: Stéphane
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Delpierre
mesh_terms: D000200:Action Potentials / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D000344:Afferent Pathways / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D001775:Blood Circulation / Q000502:physiology*; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D004594:Electrophysiology; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D007367:Intercostal Nerves / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D019344:Lactic Acid / Q000494:pharmacology; D009046:Motor Neurons / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D010791:Phrenic Nerve / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D010994:Pleura / Q000294:innervation / Q000502:physiology; D035422:Pleural Cavity / Q000294:innervation* / Q000502:physiology; D011817:Rabbits; D012119:Respiration; D012143:Respiratory Physiological Phenomena; D013564:Sympathetic Nervous System / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D019344:Lactic Acid