Biomaterial Database

Mechanisms of pressor and bradycardic responses to L-glutamate microinjected into the NTS of conscious rats. 1994

E Colombari, and L G Bonagamba, and B H Machado

Department of Physiology, School of Medicine of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Brazil.

Microinjection of increasing doses of L-glutamate (L-Glu, 0.03-5.0 nmol/100 nl) into the nucleus tractus solitarii (NTS) produced a dose-related pressor and bradycardic response. Prazosin virtually abolished the pressor response but produced no changes in the bradycardic response to L-Glu, indicating that bradycardia is not reflex in origin. The bradycardic response was blocked by atropine. In three different groups of rats, excitatory amino acid receptors in the NTS were blocked by increasing doses of kynurenic acid (0.5, 2.0, and 10.0 nmol/100 nl) and the pressor and bradycardic responses to L-Glu (1 nmol/100 nl) were reduced in a dose-related pattern. Reflex bradycardia induced by an increase in pressure caused by phenylephrine (iv) was also blocked by kynurenic acid. These data show that microinjection of L-Glu into the NTS of conscious rats produced pressor and bradycardic responses, which are due to the activation of two independent autonomic pathways. The data also indicate that the activation of both pathways is mediated by excitatory amino acid receptors. Considering that reflex bradycardia was also blocked by kynurenic acid, we suggest that L-Glu and excitatory amino acid receptors are part of the parasympathetic limb of the baroreceptor reflex. The pressor response to L-Glu is also mediated by excitatory amino acid receptors, but its physiological meaning is still unclear.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D007736	Kynurenic Acid	A broad-spectrum excitatory amino acid antagonist used as a research tool.	Kynurenate,Acid, Kynurenic
D008297	Male		Males
D008526	Medulla Oblongata	The lower portion of the BRAIN STEM. It is inferior to the PONS and anterior to the CEREBELLUM. Medulla oblongata serves as a relay station between the brain and the spinal cord, and contains centers for regulating respiratory, vasomotor, cardiac, and reflex activities.	Accessory Cuneate Nucleus,Ambiguous Nucleus,Arcuate Nucleus of the Medulla,Arcuate Nucleus-1,External Cuneate Nucleus,Lateral Cuneate Nucleus,Nucleus Ambiguus,Ambiguus, Nucleus,Arcuate Nucleus 1,Arcuate Nucleus-1s,Cuneate Nucleus, Accessory,Cuneate Nucleus, External,Cuneate Nucleus, Lateral,Medulla Oblongatas,Nucleus, Accessory Cuneate,Nucleus, Ambiguous,Nucleus, External Cuneate,Nucleus, Lateral Cuneate
D008845	Microinjections	The injection of very small amounts of fluid, often with the aid of a microscope and microsyringes.	Microinjection
D009407	Nerve Block	Interruption of NEURAL CONDUCTION in peripheral nerves or nerve trunks by the injection of a local anesthetic agent (e.g., LIDOCAINE; PHENOL; BOTULINUM TOXINS) to manage or treat pain.	Chemical Neurolysis,Chemodenervation,Nerve Blockade,Block, Nerve,Blockade, Nerve,Blockades, Nerve,Blocks, Nerve,Chemical Neurolyses,Chemodenervations,Nerve Blockades,Nerve Blocks,Neurolyses, Chemical,Neurolysis, Chemical
D010275	Parasympathetic Nervous System	The craniosacral division of the autonomic nervous system. The cell bodies of the parasympathetic preganglionic fibers are in brain stem nuclei and in the sacral spinal cord. They synapse in cranial autonomic ganglia or in terminal ganglia near target organs. The parasympathetic nervous system generally acts to conserve resources and restore homeostasis, often with effects reciprocal to the sympathetic nervous system.	Nervous System, Parasympathetic,Nervous Systems, Parasympathetic,Parasympathetic Nervous Systems,System, Parasympathetic Nervous,Systems, Parasympathetic Nervous
D011224	Prazosin	A selective adrenergic alpha-1 antagonist used in the treatment of HEART FAILURE; HYPERTENSION; PHEOCHROMOCYTOMA; RAYNAUD DISEASE; PROSTATIC HYPERTROPHY; and URINARY RETENTION.	Furazosin,Minipress,Pratsiol,Prazosin HCL,Prazosin Hydrochloride,HCL, Prazosin,Hydrochloride, Prazosin
D001794	Blood Pressure	PRESSURE of the BLOOD on the ARTERIES and other BLOOD VESSELS.	Systolic Pressure,Diastolic Pressure,Pulse Pressure,Pressure, Blood,Pressure, Diastolic,Pressure, Pulse,Pressure, Systolic,Pressures, Systolic
D005971	Glutamates	Derivatives of GLUTAMIC ACID. Included under this heading are a broad variety of acid forms, salts, esters, and amides that contain the 2-aminopentanedioic acid structure.	Glutamic Acid Derivatives,Glutamic Acids,Glutaminic Acids
D006339	Heart Rate	The number of times the HEART VENTRICLES contract per unit of time, usually per minute.	Cardiac Rate,Chronotropism, Cardiac,Heart Rate Control,Heartbeat,Pulse Rate,Cardiac Chronotropy,Cardiac Chronotropism,Cardiac Rates,Chronotropy, Cardiac,Control, Heart Rate,Heart Rates,Heartbeats,Pulse Rates,Rate Control, Heart,Rate, Cardiac,Rate, Heart,Rate, Pulse