title: Caffeine reversal of opioid-evoked and endogenous inspiratory depression in perinatal rat en bloc medullas and slices.
abstract: Caffeine counters endogenous or drug-evoked depression of breathing in (preterm) infants. Despite its common clinical use, little is known on central nervous mechanisms of its stimulatory respiratory action. We show that millimolar concentrations of caffeine are needed in perinatal rat en bloc medullas and medullary slices for stimulation of fictive inspiratory rhythms that were either endogenously slow in fetuses or depressed by prostagandins or opioids. Findings suggests that caffeine blocks phospodiesterase-4 thus raising cAMP in rhythmogenic pre-Bötzinger complex (preBötC) networks and/or cells driving the inspiratory preBötC.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, University of Alberta, Alberta, Canada.
authors.forename: Araya
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ruangkittisakul
authors.forename: Bogdan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Panaitescu
authors.forename: Junya
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kuribayashi
authors.forename: Klaus
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ballanyi
mesh_terms: D000701:Analgesics, Opioid / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D001933:Brain Stem / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D002110:Caffeine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000242:Cyclic AMP / Q000378:metabolism; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D001239:Inhalation / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology*; D010507:Periodicity; D051381:Rats
chemical_list: D000701:Analgesics, Opioid; D002110:Caffeine; D000242:Cyclic AMP