Brainstem circuitry of tracheal-bronchial cough: c-fos study in anesthetized cats.
The c-fos gene expression method was used to localize brainstem neurons functionally related to the tracheal-bronchial cough on 13 spontaneously breathing, pentobarbitone anesthetized cats. The level of Fos-like immunoreactivity (FLI) in 6 animals with repetitive coughs (170+/-12) induced by mechanical stimulation of the tracheobronchial mucosa was compared to FLI in 7 control non-stimulated cats. Thirty-four nuclei were compared for the number of labeled cells. Enhanced cough FLI was found bilaterally at following brainstem structures, as compared to controls: In the medulla, FLI was increased in the medial, interstitial and ventrolateral subnuclei of the solitary tract (p < 0.02), in the retroambigual nucleus of the caudal medulla (p < 0.05), in the ambigual, paraambigual and retrofacial nuclei of the rostral medulla along with the lateral reticular nuclei, the ventrolateral reticular tegmental field (p < 0.05), and the raphe nuclei (p < 0.05). In pons, increased FLI was detected in the lateral parabrachial and Kölliker-Fuse nuclei (p < 0.01), in the posteroventral cochlear nuclei (p < 0.01), and the raphe midline (p < 0.05). Within the mesencephalon cough-related FLI was enhanced at the rostral midline area (p < 0.05), but a decrease was found at its caudal part in the periaqueductal gray (p < 0.02). Results of this study suggest a large medullary - pontine - mesencephalic neuronal circuit involved in the control of the tracheal-bronchial cough in cats.
Department of Medical Biophysics, Comenius University Bratislava, Jessenius Faculty of Medicine, Malá Hora 4, 03754 Martin, Slovakia. jakus@jfmed.uniba.sk
Jan
J
Jakus
Ivan
I
Poliacek
Erika
E
Halasova
Peter
P
Murin
Juliana
J
Knocikova
Zoltan
Z
Tomori
Donald C
DC
Bolser
D000758:Anesthesia; D000818:Animals; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology; D001931:Brain Mapping; D001933:Brain Stem / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D001980:Bronchi / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002415:Cats; D003371:Cough / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D008297:Male; D009474:Neurons / Q000473:pathology; D010812:Physical Stimulation / Q000009:adverse effects; D016760:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
D016760:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos