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Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol 274: R1546-R1555, 1998;
0363-6119/98 $5.00
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Vol. 274, Issue 6, R1546-R1555, June 1998

A role for NMDA receptors in posthypoxic frequency decline in the rat

Sharon K. Coles1,2, Paul Ernsberger2, and Thomas E. Dick2

1 Department of Anatomy and Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine and 2 Department of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106-4941

    ABSTRACT
Top
Abstract
Introduction
Methods
Results
Discussion
References

Posthypoxic frequency decline (PHFD) refers to the undershoot in respiratory frequency that follows brief hypoxic exposures. Lateral pontine neurons are required for PHFD. The neurotransmitters involved in the circuit that activate and/or are released by these pontine neurons regulating PHFD are unknown. We hypothesized that N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors are required for PHFD, because of the similarity in respiratory pattern after blocking lateral pontine activity or NMDA receptors. Furthermore, we hypothesized that the location of these NMDA receptors could be visualized by optimizing binding affinity with spermidine. In vagotomized, anesthetized rats (n = 16), cardiorespiratory responses to hypoxia (8% O2, 30-90 s) were recorded before and after dizocilpine (10 µg-1 mg/kg iv), and NMDA receptors were mapped with [3H]dizocilpine (n = 6). Dizocilpine elicited a dose-related effect on PHFD, blocking PHFD at high doses. Resting arterial blood pressure and breathing frequency decreased with high doses of dizocilpine, but the respiratory response to hypoxia remained intact. Our novel anatomical data indicate that NMDA receptors were widespread but distributed differentially in the brain stem. We conclude that NMDA receptors are located in pontine and medullary respiratory-related regions and that PHFD requires NMDA-receptor activation.

respiration; dizocilpine; hypoxia; pons; timing

    INTRODUCTION
Top
Abstract
Introduction
Methods
Results
Discussion
References

POSTHYPOXIC FREQUENCY DECLINE (PHFD) refers to the undershoot in respiratory frequency after brief exposures to hypoxia (5). This decrease in frequency results primarily from a prolongation of expiration, which is blocked by inhibiting neuronal activity in the ventrolateral (VL) or dorsolateral (DL) pons (4). Furthermore, stimulating VL pontine neurons lengthens expiration (3, 6, 18). These data are consistent with our overall hypothesis that the decrease in respiratory frequency after hypoxia results from activation of neurons in the lateral pons (5). The neurotransmitter or neurotransmitters mediating this change in respiratory timing with reoxygenation are unknown.

The noncompetitive N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA)-receptor blocker, dizocilpine (MK-801), elicits apneusis, a prolonged inspiratory pattern of breathing, in vagotomized animals when given at sufficient doses (7, 11, 26). This alteration in breathing pattern mimics the effect of bilateral lesions in the VL (17) and DL pons (19, 34). Furthermore, dizocilpine may elicit apneusis by acting through lateral pontine neurons, because microinjections of dizocilpine into the pontine respiratory group prolong inspiration (21). Due to the similarity in breathing patterns after lateral pontine lesions and NMDA-receptor blockade, we hypothesized that PHFD requires NMDA-receptor activation. Thus PHFD would be blocked by systemic administration of dizocilpine. We tested this possibility by analyzing the respiratory pattern before, during, and after brief hypoxic challenges before and after intravenous injections of dizocilpine in vagotomized rats.

In addition to the regulation of respiratory timing and pattern, NMDA receptors play a role in the central processing of chemoreceptor afferent information. In particular, increases in respiratory frequency, a hallmark of the respiratory response to hypoxia, are mediated by NMDA and non-NMDA mechanisms within the nucleus of the solitary tract (NTS; 32). The involvement of alternate pathways provides a mechanism for hypoxia-mediated changes to persist, even though NMDA receptors have been blocked. Thus posthypoxic events dependent on NMDA neurotransmission may be affected independent of the respiratory response to hypoxia. We hypothesize that we can affect PHFD without eliminating the respiratory response to hypoxia.

The ability of NMDA antagonists to influence respiration implies that NMDA receptors exist in the brain stem, but autoradiographic mapping of NMDA receptors has yielded equivocal data. In an early study, [3H]glutamate binding to NMDA receptors was sparse, but detectable, in the inferior olive, NTS, facial nucleus, and parabrachial region (25). However, more recently, [3H]dizocilpine binding was reported to be nearly absent from the rat brain stem (30). Given the physiological evidence of NMDA receptors in respiratory-related areas, we hypothesized that NMDA receptors could be visualized by optimizing [3H]dizocilpine binding by use of spermidine. Spermidine, an endogenous polyamine, increases the affinity of NMDA receptors. We therefore tested our hypothesis by performing autoradiographic binding experiments in the presence of spermidine.

    METHODS
Top
Abstract
Introduction
Methods
Results
Discussion
References

General experimental procedures. Breathing pattern was measured before, during, and after brief hypoxia (8% O2-balance N2) and before and after systemic delivery of dizocilpine in male, Sprague-Dawley rats (n = 16; 328-525 g). Rats were anesthetized with chloral hydrate (1.33 mg/kg) and pentobarbital sodium (0.3 mg/kg). Supplemental doses were administered if cardiorespiratory output increased in response to pinching a foot pad. Both cervical vagal nerves were dissected and looped for subsequent avulsion once the animal was connected to the ventilator by a tracheal cannula. Animals were ventilated with 100% O2, and end-tidal CO2 and airflow were monitored. A phrenic nerve was dissected, desheathed, and mounted on bipolar silver wire electrodes to record central respiratory output. A femoral vein was cannulated for infusion of paralytic agent (Pavulon, pancuronium bromide, 0.1 mg · h-1 · 100 g-1), dizocilpine, or a bicarbonate-saline mixture to maintain blood pH. A femoral artery was catheterized to monitor blood pressure. Body temperature was maintained at 38.5 ± 0.5°C by a servo-controlled heating pad. The head of the animal was fitted into the ear bars of a stereotaxic frame for the duration of the experiment. Phrenic nerve activity (PNA) was amplified and filtered (0.1 Hz-3 kHz, Grass P511) and then rectified and integrated (Paynter filter; time constant, 50 ms) by use of a moving averager (CWE, Ardmore, PA). Integrated PNA and airflow were acquired by and stored on computer for subsequent analysis (Marlin Data Acquisition and Analysis Program) and recorded on the chart recorder (Astro-Med Dash 8) in addition to blood pressure, raw PNA, and event markers.

Preparation of dizocilpine. Dizocilpine [(+)-5-methyl-10,11-dihydro-5H-dibenzo[a,d]cyclohepten-5,10-imine hydrogen maleate; MK-801 maleate; Research Biochemicals International, catalog no. M-107] was dissolved in 10% DMSO-90% 0.1 M PBS (pH 7.4). Doses used were divided into "low-dose" [0.01 (n = 3) and 0.03 (n = 4) mg/kg] and "high-dose" groups [0.30 (n = 5) and 1.0 (n = 4) mg/kg].

Experimental protocol. Baseline PNA was recorded during 100% O2 before the challenge with brief 8% O2 (30-90 s). After hypoxia, rats were returned to the hyperoxic breathing gas. Once the breathing pattern returned to baseline levels, either vehicle or dizocilpine was injected intravenously. Hypoxic exposure was repeated ~10 min after intravenous injections. At the end of the experiment, the animal was killed with an overdose of anesthetic.

Data analysis. Integrated PNA was used as an index of the respiratory cycle. The area under the integrated phrenic nerve signal (<LIM><OP>∫</OP></LIM>PNAareas) and inspiratory (ti) and expiratory (te) times were measured and plotted sequentially. To quantify the respiratory response, <LIM><OP>∫</OP></LIM>PNAareas, ti, te, and breathing frequency were averaged for three consecutive cycles at the following periods: A, baseline hyperoxia; B, peak hypoxic breathing frequency; C, last cycles in hypoxia; D, maximal PHFD in hyperoxia; and E, 30 s after D. Normalized means of te and <LIM><OP>∫</OP></LIM>PNAareas relative to hyperoxic baseline levels were plotted at these five points in time. When PHFD was blocked by dizocilpine, the posthypoxic variables were measured for the cycles that corresponded to PHFD before treatment. Maximal ti levels during hypoxia before treatment and after vehicle were chosen after te decreased in response to hypoxia. Maximal ti levels during hypoxia after dizocilpine were selected regardless of when they occurred during the exposure. Normalized means of posthypoxic breathing frequencies and <LIM><OP>∫</OP></LIM>PNAareas were correlated against breathing frequencies and <LIM><OP>∫</OP></LIM>PNAareas during the peak response to hypoxia (Figs. 4 and 7, respectively). The Student's t-test for paired or unpaired comparisons or the Wilcoxon sign-rank test was utilized to determine differences (P <=  0.05). Differences in mean values at any two time points were evaluated using one-way ANOVA for repeated measures followed by the Bonferroni post hoc test (alpha  = 0.05). All values are presented as means ± SE.

Receptor autoradiography. Urethan-anesthetized (1 g/kg) Wistar rats (n = 6; 300-800 g) were exsanguinated. Their brains were removed quickly and flash frozen in isopentane cooled on dry ice. Brain stems were mounted in medium (Tissue-tek) and sectioned coronally (12-µm thickness at -18°C). Sections were thaw mounted directly onto glass slides coated twice with 1% gelatin and 0.1% chrome alum. Sequential sections were mounted on one of three slides. Reference slides were placed in formaldehyde solution to fix the tissue for subsequent counterstaining. Slides for autoradiographic processing were kept at 4°C during sectioning, dried in a vacuum desiccator for 1 h, stored at -20°C overnight to allow adhesion between the section and the slide, and then stored at -70°C.

Methods for labeling NMDA receptor binding sites have been adapted from previous autoradiographic studies for other ligands (10). Slides were warmed to room temperature inside a vacuum desiccator to prevent condensation. Sections were preincubated 15 min in assay buffer to remove endogenous substances, which can influence [3H]dizocilpine binding (23). The assay buffer was isosmotic and contained 20 mM HEPES adjusted to pH 7.4 with Tris base, 250 mM sucrose, and 1.0 mM EDTA. Sections were then incubated for 2 h with 5 nM [3H]dizocilpine in the assay buffer with three cofactors: 1) 0.1 mM glutamate, 2) 0.1 mM glycine, and 3) 0.1 mM spermidine, a polyamine that improves binding of [3H]dizocilpine (31). Nonspecific binding was determined at the same time by incubating adjacent sections with identical assay buffer containing an excess (1.0 mM) of ketamine (an NMDA-receptor antagonist).

Incubation with [3H]dizocilpine was terminated by placing the tissue in ice-cold assay buffer without cofactors for 60 min. Assay buffer was changed three times during this period. Sections were dipped in distilled water to remove salts, which can cause chemographic artifacts. To minimize diffusion, sections were dried quickly with a stream of air that had passed through a column of CaSO4 pellets and a trap immersed in dry ice and methanol. Slides were placed in a vacuum desiccator for 24-48 h to dehydrate the tissue completely. Sections were exposed to tritium-sensitive film (Hyperfilm, Amersham) for 6 mo. The film was developed (Kodak D-19, for 4 min at 16-18°C), rinsed briefly in water, and fixed (Rapid Kodak Fixer for 10 min). After autoradiographic processing, the tissue was fixed in formaldehyde solution for staining. Histological reconstructions of radiolabeled sections were traced by using a drawing tube before and after staining with toluidine blue. Anatomical landmarks were compared with the thionine-stained (0.1%) reference sections.

    RESULTS
Top
Abstract
Introduction
Methods
Results
Discussion
References

The cardiorespiratory response to hypoxia consisted of increases in arterial blood pressure, phrenic nerve amplitude, and breathing frequency, followed by a decrease in frequency relative to the peak hypoxic breathing frequency (Fig. 1, top). In the posthypoxic period, frequency decreased further, but the increase in amplitude of phrenic bursts was sustained. The posthypoxic decrease in frequency was present in all animals and was not affected by vehicle administration.


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Fig. 1.   Posthypoxic frequency decline (PHFD) before and after dizocilpine. Inspiratory (ti) and expiratory (te) times and integrated phrenic nerve signal (<LIM><OP>∫</OP></LIM>PNAareas) were measured for last 3 cycles before hypoxia (A), at peak breathing frequency during hypoxia (B), last 3 cycles during hypoxia (C), after hypoxia at maximal PHFD (D), and 30-s after maximal PHFD (not shown). Top: before dizocilpine: amplitude of phrenic nerve activity (PNA) progressively increased, whereas respiratory frequency initially increased then decreased during hypoxia (39 s between arrows). With reoxygenation (downward arrow), increases in amplitude were sustained, but frequency decreased below baseline levels. PHFD is due to increases in te (185%) relative to baseline level. Bottom: after a high dose of dizocilpine (300 µg/kg iv), baseline phrenic nerve amplitude decreased, and ti has prolonged. During hypoxic exposure (34 s), amplitude of PNA and <LIM><OP>∫</OP></LIM>PNAareas increased, and te decreased. After hypoxia, te did not lengthen beyond baseline te, and PHFD was blocked. In 5 cycles, ti lengthened during hypoxia, and longest (* 8.6 s) occurred at time of peak frequency before dizocilpine. Arterial blood pressure decreased, and pressor response during hypoxia before drug treatment was eliminated. Traces from top: raw PNA, integrated PNA (<LIM><OP>∫</OP></LIM>PNA), airflow (AF), and blood pressure (BP).

Dizocilpine had a dose-related effect on the respiratory response to hypoxia. Low doses (0.01 or 0.03 mg/kg) of dizocilpine had little effect on baseline cardiorespiratory variables and on the respiratory response to hypoxia, and for that reason, the data from these animals were combined into the low-dose group. However, after the high dose [0.3 (Fig. 1, bottom) or 1.0 mg/kg] of dizocilpine, baseline inspiratory duration increased and increased further during the hypoxic exposure. After hypoxia, expiratory duration did not increase, and PHFD was blocked (Fig. 1, bottom). High doses of dizocilpine lowered resting blood pressure and dampened the pressor response to hypoxia (Fig. 1, bottom). Because PHFD was blocked in all animals that received the higher doses of dizocilpine, the data were combined into the high-dose group.

Dizocilpine elicited dose-related effects on breathing frequency. Baseline and posthypoxic breathing frequencies were altered in a dose-related manner by dizocilpine. Baseline breathing frequency increased slightly, but not significantly, after low doses of dizocilpine (Fig. 2A) and decreased significantly (P = 0.02) after high doses of dizocilpine (Fig. 2A). Despite decreased baseline frequency after high doses of dizocilpine, the posthypoxic breathing frequency was significantly greater than pretreatment posthypoxic frequency (P = 0.05; Fig. 2B). The difference in the posthypoxic breathing pattern due to high doses of dizocilpine was more apparent when posthypoxic breathing frequencies were plotted as percent changes from their respective baseline frequencies (Fig. 2C). PHFD was still significant (P = 0.02), although attenuated in the low-dose group (Fig. 2C). However, PHFD was blocked by high doses of dizocilpine, because normalized posthypoxic breathing frequency was not different from zero (P = 0.85; Fig. 2C).


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Fig. 2.   Effect of dizocilpine on baseline and posthypoxic breathing frequencies. High doses of dizocilpine significantly (A; * P = 0.02) decreased mean absolute baseline hyperoxic breathing frequency compared with its pretreatment baseline frequency (A; large black-square vs. large square ; n = 9). Nevertheless, mean absolute posthypoxic breathing frequency significantly (B; * P = 0.05) increased compared with its respective pretreatment frequency (B; n = 9). Due to this increase in posthypoxic breathing frequency, there was no undershoot in respiratory frequency after hypoxia, and PHFD was abolished (large black-square in C; high dose, P = 0.85). In low-dose and vehicle groups, baseline (A) and posthypoxic (B) breathing frequency was not significantly different pretreatment. A significant frequency decline (defined as percent change from prehypoxic baseline) remained after vehicle (C, **) and low-dose dizocilpine (C, *), although PHFD was attenuated in low-dose group (P = 0.02). PHFD (defined as percent change from prehypoxic baseline) was also present in each pretreatment group before vehicle (*** P < 0.0001), low-dose (** P = 0.04), and high-dose dizocilpine (** P = 0.002). Values for each group were compared with their respective pretreatment values. Vehicle group consists of 3 animals from low- and 5 from high-dose group (for Figs. 2-7). Small square , before low-dose dizocilpine; large square , before high-dose dizocilpine; open circle , vehicle; small black-square, after low-dose dizocilpine; large black-square, after high-dose dizocilpine.

The significant reduction in baseline breathing frequency after high doses of dizocilpine was due to a prolongation in inspiration (0.49 s before vs. 0.63 s after dizocilpine; P = 0.04) with apparently minimal changes in expiration. Because of this alteration in timing, the effect of dizocilpine on respiratory pattern during and after hypoxia was evaluated by determining the changes in te. Dizocilpine selectively elicited dose-related changes in posthypoxic te, because the decrease in te that occurred during hypoxia remained (Fig. 3). In the low-dose group, the decrease in te during hypoxia was present but was significantly attenuated (P = 0.02), and posthypoxic te tended to decrease but was not significantly different from posthypoxic te before dizocilpine (P = 0.41; Fig. 3A). However, high doses had no effect on the decrease in te during hypoxia but significantly decreased maximal posthypoxic te and 30-s postmaximum compared with the same pretreatment te (P = 0.003 and 0.003, respectively; Fig. 3B). These decreases in posthypoxic te were consistent and account for the elimination of PHFD after dizocilpine.


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Fig. 3.   Dizocilpine eliminates prolongation in te after hypoxia. Percent change in te from baseline was calculated before (A, n = 7; B, n = 9) and after administration of vehicle (A, n = 8) or dizocilpine at a low (A, n = 7) or high (B, n = 9) dose at following 5 points: before hypoxia (baseline), during peak breathing frequency (Pkf ) and last 3 breaths in hypoxia (end), during maximal prolongations in te after hypoxia (max te), and 30 s later. Respiratory response to hypoxia in low-dose group was similar to pattern before treatment and after vehicle administration, except that te during peak hypoxic frequency had significantly increased compared with baseline te (** P = 0.02). After high dose of dizocilpine, peak frequency te was not significantly different, but percent change in te at maximal te and 30 s later was significantly decreased compared with baseline level (B; ** P = 0.003 and 0.003, respectively).

Posthypoxic breathing frequencies were not correlated to peak hypoxic frequencies before treatment with dizocilpine (r = 0.30; P = 0.26; Fig. 4A), after vehicle (r = 0.24; P = 0.58; Fig. 4B), or with low-dose treatment of dizocilpine (r = 0.40; P = 0.38; Fig. 4C). However, posthypoxic breathing frequencies were strongly correlated to peak frequencies with high-dose treatment of dizocilpine (r = 0.78; P = 0.01; Fig. 4D). Thus, before treatment, after vehicle, and after low doses of dizocilpine, animals with the highest hypoxia-induced tachypnea did not necessarily exhibit the longest prolongations in te after hypoxia (Fig. 4, A-C). However, after high doses of dizocilpine, the animals having the highest hypoxic frequencies also had the highest posthypoxic frequencies (Fig. 4D).


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Fig. 4.   Correlation between posthypoxic and peak breathing frequencies before and after dizocilpine. Normalized values of posthypoxic breathing frequencies were plotted against normalized values of peak hypoxic breathing frequencies before dizocilpine, after vehicle, and after dizocilpine in individual animals. Before dizocilpine (A), after vehicle (B), and after low dose of dizocilpine (C), peak and posthypoxic breathing frequencies were not significantly correlated (r = 0.30, 0.24, and 0.40 and P = 0.26, 0.58, and 0.34, respectively). In contrast, posthypoxic breathing frequencies were tightly related to peak hypoxic breathing frequencies after high-dose dizocilpine (D; r = 0.78 and P = 0.01). Dotted lines indicate 95% confidence intervals. Additional symbols: small open circle , vehicle from low-dose dizocilpine group; large open circle , vehicle from high-dose dizocilpine group.

Dizocilpine elicited dose-related effects on respiratory response during hypoxia. Hypoxia elicited absolute increases in breathing frequency both before and after treatment, but peak breathing frequency was significantly decreased after high doses of dizocilpine compared with pretreatment (P = 0.002; Fig. 5A). In addition, there was a transient increase in inspiration during hypoxia in the high-dose group (P = 0.003; Fig. 5B).


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Fig. 5.   Effect of dizocilpine on respiratory frequency during hypoxia. Absolute peak breathing frequencies during hypoxia were not significantly different from those before treatment, except after high doses of dizocilpine (** P = 0.002; A; compare open circle  and black-square with square ). Mean percent change in maximal ti during hypoxia from baseline ti was calculated for each group (B) and significantly increased in high-dose dizocilpine group (B; ** P = 0.004).

The prolongation of inspiration effectively increased the percent change in <LIM><OP>∫</OP></LIM>PNAareas during the peak response to hypoxia and at the end of the hypoxic exposure compared with baseline <LIM><OP>∫</OP></LIM>PNAareas (in high-dose dizocilpine group of animals; P = 0.04 and 0.03, respectively; Fig. 6B). The effect of low doses of dizocilpine and vehicle on <LIM><OP>∫</OP></LIM>PNAareas were not different from baseline (Fig. 6A). However, the correlation between posthypoxic and peak<LIM><OP>∫</OP></LIM>PNAareas that existed before dizocilpine and after vehicle (r = 0.60 and 0.60 and P = 0.01 and 0.12, respectively; Fig. 7, A and B) was abolished after low (r = -0.25; P = 0.58; Fig. 7C) and high (r -0.24; P = 0.53; Fig. 7D) doses of dizocilpine. Thus, with pretreatment and vehicle, the increase in <LIM><OP>∫</OP></LIM>PNAareas was sustained; i.e., the greatest <LIM><OP>∫</OP></LIM>PNAareas during hypoxia remained the greatest after hypoxia. This relationship was eliminated after treatment.


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Fig. 6.   Dizocilpine dose-response graphs of <LIM><OP>∫</OP></LIM>PNAareas. Mean percent change from baseline <LIM><OP>∫</OP></LIM>PNAareas was calculated for each group at same time points described in Fig. 3. High doses of dizocilpine (B) elicited transient prolongations in ti during hypoxia (see Figs. 1 and 5). As a result, <LIM><OP>∫</OP></LIM>PNAareas increased during hypoxia (B; * P = 0.03 during peak hypoxic frequency and * P = 0.02 at end of hypoxic exposure) but did not change significantly before or after low-dose or vehicle (A).


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Fig. 7.   Correlation between posthypoxic and peak <LIM><OP>∫</OP></LIM>PNAareas before and after dizocilpine. Normalized values of <LIM><OP>∫</OP></LIM>PNAareas after hypoxia were plotted against peak hypoxic frequency for each group. Peak and posthypoxic <LIM><OP>∫</OP></LIM>PNAareas were correlated before (A and B, P = 0.01 and 0.12 and r = 0.60 and 0.60, respectively) but not after either dose of dizocilpine (C and D, P = 0.58 and 0.53 and r = -0.25 and -0.24, respectively). Dotted lines indicate 95% confidence intervals. Symbols same as those described in Figs. 2 and 4.

Distribution of NMDA receptors in brain stem. Our in vivo results implied the presence of NMDA receptors in brain stem areas implicated in the control of respiratory timing. To test this, the distribution of NMDA receptors in rat brain stem was visualized. Specific binding of [3H]dizocilpine to NMDA receptors in pontine (Fig. 8A) and medullary (Fig. 8B) sections was widespread but distributed nonuniformly. Fiber tracts were not labeled and appeared dark in the sections (shaded areas in reconstructions). In contrast, light areas indicated presence of binding sites, which included regions known to affect the respiratory pattern. In the pons, [3H]dizocilpine labeling was present in the VL pontine reticular formation containing the A5 region immediately medial to the facial nerve and in the DL pontine parabrachial complex (Fig. 8A). In the medulla, labeling was observed in the parapyramidal nuclei (13) and throughout the solitary complex and reticular formation (Fig. 8B).


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Fig. 8.   Distribution of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors labeled by [3H]dizocilpine binding sites in brain stem. Representative coronal sections of pons (A) and medulla (B) (located ~9.68 and 11.3 mm caudal to bregma, respectively) show a nonuniform distribution of areas of autoradiographic NMDA receptors. In pons, NMDA receptors are located in both dorsolateral and ventrolateral pons. Medullary respiratory regions, including nucleus of solitary tract (NTS) and parapyramidal region, also contain NMDA receptors. Nonspecific binding was determined on adjacent sections incubated in presence of 1.0 mM ketamine and was barely discernible from film background (bottom). Anatomical structures were compared with adjacent reference sections stained with thionine. Regions of high binding site density appear bright. Absence of binding is indicated by dark areas in photographed sections and as shaded areas in histological reconstructions. 4V, 4th ventricle; 7, facial nucleus; 7n, facial nerve; 12, hypoglossal nucleus; A5, region of ventrolateral pontine reticular formation; g7, genu of facial nerve; icp, inferior cerebellar peduncle; mlf, medial longitudinal fasciculus; Mo5, motor trigeminal nucleus; PBC, pontine parabrachial complex; Pn, pontine reticular nucleus; PPN, parapyramidal nucleus; Pr5, principal sensory nucleus of trigeminus; py, pyramidal tract; scp, superior cerebellar peduncle; Sol, NTS; sp5, spinal trigeminal tract; Sp5, spinal trigeminal nucleus.

    DISCUSSION
Top
Abstract
Introduction
Methods
Results
Discussion
References

The present study addressed three hypotheses. First, we hypothesized that PHFD required activation of NMDA receptors. PHFD was attenuated after low doses and eliminated after high doses of dizocilpine, an NMDA-receptor channel antagonist. Second, we hypothesized that the response to hypoxia would remain after dizocilpine treatment. Expiratory duration decreased during the hypoxic exposure, but inspiratory duration increased transiently. Third, we confirmed that NMDA receptors exist in the brain stem and could be visualized using spermidine to enhance binding of radiolabeled dizocilpine. NMDA receptors were distributed widely, but differentially, throughout the brain stem and were present in regions containing respiratory-modulated activity.

Possible sites of action of dizocilpine for PHFD. The widespread distribution of NMDA receptors in the brain stem indicates the potential involvement of multiple target sites that could regulate respiratory rhythm during and after hypoxia. The effects of dizocilpine could be exerted at three potential sites: 1) the NTS which integrates carotid body input, 2) the VL medulla which generates the breathing pattern, and 3) the lateral pons which is necessary for PHFD (5). However, the exact neural pathway, which includes a pontine relay, is unknown, but evidence for the potential role of glutamate and NMDA receptors in hypoxia-related timing changes has been demonstrated at two of these sites. In the NTS, increased glutamate release coincides with hypoxia (24), and NTS-evoked excitatory input to DL pontine neurons has been blocked by NMDA-receptor antagonists (16). Our autoradiographic data show that NMDA receptors are located in both the VL and DL pons. This finding supports the physiological evidence that implicates both these pontine regions in the regulation of respiratory rhythm. Microinjections of dizocilpine into the parabrachial region perturbs the inspiratory off-switch in cats and rats (12, 21), and glutamatergic activation of VL pontine neurons prolongs expiration in rats (18). On the basis of the information from these previous reports (5, 12, 16, 18, 21, 24), we speculate that NTS relay neurons transmit chemosensory information to lateral pontine neurons which elicit PHFD through the VL medullary central pattern generator. If this relay exists, we would then anticipate a correlation between the level of activation of a chemosensitive index during hypoxia and PHFD. However, before dizocilpine treatment, peak hypoxic breathing frequency was not correlated to posthypoxic breathing frequency. Thus exposure to hypoxia results from noncorrelated increases in respiratory variables that may result from differences in the integration of chemoreceptor inputs.

Facilitatory aspects of hypoxia on cardiorespiration. Activation of carotid chemoreceptor afferents elicits transient increases in respiratory frequency and amplitude of phrenic nerve activity (PNA). We hypothesized that these facilitatory responses to hypoxia would be unaffected by dizocilpine, but dizocilpine altered some aspects of the response to hypoxia. Increases in respiratory frequency remained in response to hypoxia due to decreases in expiratory duration, but the overall frequency response to hypoxia was attenuated by high doses of dizocilpine. This attenuated frequency response was due to the transient increase in ti during hypoxia after high-dose administration. The increases in <LIM><OP>∫</OP></LIM>PNAareas reflect the combined relative increases in inspiration and amplitude of PNA that also remained.

The increase in ti during hypoxia after high doses of dizocilpine may indicate that the control of respiratory timing is changing. In particular, it indicates that a control mechanism, i.e., the inspiratory off-switch, is dependent on excitatory drive from glutamatergic, or NMDA-receptor, pathways. These pathways which influence the respiratory pattern generator (RPG) during hypoxia do not depend on a functional pons, because blocking either DL or VL pontine activity did not result in augmented apneustic breathing during hypoxia (5, 29). That these pathways may be medullary is supported by the findings that microinjections of dizocilpine in the medial and VL NTS elicit an apneustic pattern of breathing (1, 32) and that intraperitoneal injection of dizocilpine can significantly attenuate hypoxia-evoked Fos expression in the caudal NTS (14). These areas are close to the termination of carotid body afferents and may be the site of second-order interneurons in the chemoreflex pathway (10). After dizocilpine, no correlation existed between peak and posthypoxic phrenic areas, which we predict is due to the loss of medullary NMDA pathways that affect timing and inspiratory phase duration. However, we conclude that the afferent input from the carotid body is not totally blocked, because some of the elements of the response to hypoxia remained intact.

With high doses of dizocilpine, mean arterial blood pressure was lowered (132.56 ± 6.61 mmHg predizocilpine vs. 101.56 ± 11.63 mmHg postdizocilpine), and the hypoxia-induced sympathoexcitatory pressor response was blocked. This finding is consistent with the reports that NMDA-receptor activation mediates the hypertension elicited by carotid body stimulation (20) and appears to affect the basal levels of splanchnic sympathetic nerve activity (27).

Relationship of peak breathing frequencies during hypoxia to breathing frequencies after hypoxia. We make the following assumptions regarding the respiratory variables that determine breathing frequencies under different conditions: 1) baseline breathing frequency is determined in the medulla by the RPG and a pontine influence; 2) peak breathing frequency is determined by an interaction between the RPG and chemoreceptor input; and 3) posthypoxic breathing frequency is determined by an interaction between the RPG and its dynamic pontine input. From these assumptions, we predict that baseline and peak hypoxic frequencies are related through properties of the RPG and that this correlation exists before and after NMDA-receptor blockade. We also predict that peak and posthypoxic breathing frequencies will not be or will be weakly correlated, because two independent variables are interacting on a common factor, the RPG.

Our results support these assumptions. Posthypoxic breathing frequency was not correlated to peak hypoxic breathing frequency in the groups of animals before treatment or after vehicle or in the low-dose dizocilpine group. Although a correlation between peak and posthypoxic breathing frequencies might have been expected, this was not the case. However, after the higher dizocilpine dose, posthypoxic breathing frequency was tightly correlated to peak frequency. In addition, peak frequency during hypoxia is correlated to baseline breathing frequency before treatment. We interpret these findings to indicate that a dynamic variable modulating the RPG after hypoxia was eliminated by dizocilpine, and the breathing pattern returns to the baseline breathing pattern which is determined primarily by properties of the RPG. In other words, the RPG receives an excitatory drive from the carotid sinus nerves during hypoxia and a modulating input from the VL pons after hypoxia. Once NMDA receptors are blocked, peak breathing frequency during hypoxia is correlated to posthypoxic breathing frequency, because, we speculate, the dynamic modulatory input from the pons has been blocked. Thus the RPG is unmodulated after hypoxia.

NMDA-receptor activation is required for PHFD. The present study is the first to suggest that the pathway causing a prolongation of expiration after hypoxia might be dependent on glutamate activation through NMDA receptors. The undershoot in respiratory frequency, which occurs in the poststimulation period, has been described as "short-term depression" (STD) of respiratory frequency (15). However, we speculate that the undershoot in frequency represents an excitation of an inhibitory process, as the term STD implies, because blockade of excitatory neurotransmission prevented PHFD, even though the facilitatory response to hypoxia remained. Furthermore, an analogy can be drawn between this short-term potentiation of expiration and other time-dependent changes in respiration. For example, short-term potentiation of expiration follows the same time course as short-term potentiation (STP; Ref. 33), where the poststimulus effect lasts for seconds to minutes. We speculate that PHFD could be mediated by pontine activation of postinspiratory neurons (also termed E-Dec neurons), an element of the irreversible inspiratory off-switch (28) in the VL medulla. Recent evidence shows that E-Dec neurons in the caudal VL medulla are activated by stimulation of chemoreceptors and that their activation is NMDA dependent (8). This finding is consistent with our hypothesis that PHFD results from prolongations in expiration by exciting medullary expiratory neurons via a pontine glutamatergic mechanism.

Perspectives

Different respiratory responses are elicited by hypoxia at different stages of mammalian development. In the fetus, breathing movements cease during hypoxemia (2). In the newborn and adult, ventilation increases and then decreases during hypoxia (5, 15, 22). Specifically, in the newborn, tidal volume increases and then falls, whereas respiratory frequency decreases from the start of the exposure (22). In contrast, in the adult, respiratory frequency and amplitude of PNA increase during hypoxia. Although the amplitude increase is sustained, frequency decreases progressively toward the end of the hypoxic exposure (5, 15). Posthypoxia, respiratory frequency decreases even further in the adult (5, 15). We speculate that the decrease in respiratory frequency during hypoxia is neurally mediated and that the undershoot in frequency after hypoxia is a continuation of the slowing process initiated by hypoxia. Furthermore, we speculate that the decreases in frequency in the newborn and adult are related to the fetal response to hypoxia and that the primary goal of this system is to conserve energy during hypoxia. Lastly, we speculate that the mechanism decreasing respiratory frequency has an excitatory component rather than being strictly inhibitory or disfacilitatory. Specifically, excitation of brain stem expiratory neurons decreases frequency, and thus the decrease in frequency during and after acute hypoxia is short-term potentiation of expiration. We have presented evidence that VL pontine neurons are required for PHFD (5) and, in this study, that glutamatergic neurotransmission is involved in modulation of PHFD. We would expect both of these elements to be components of short-term potentiation of expiration.

    ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We gratefully acknowledge Philip Martinak and Mohamad El-Khatib for help in some of the experiments and Philip Martinak for statistical analysis and graphs.

    FOOTNOTES

This work was supported by National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Grants HL-25830, HL-42400, and HL-44514.

Address for reprint requests: S. K. Coles, Div. of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Dept. of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, 11100 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, OH 44106-4941.

Received 2 October 1997; accepted in final form 5 February 1998.

    REFERENCES
Top
Abstract
Introduction
Methods
Results
Discussion
References

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Am J Physiol Regul Integr Compar Physiol 274(6):R1546-R1555
0002-9513/98 $5.00 Copyright © 1998 the American Physiological Society



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