Effect of tail suspension on haemodynamics in intact and sympathectomized rats

Longitudinal interrogation of sympathetic neural circuits and hemodynamics in preclinical models

Neurological disorders, including spinal cord injury, result in hemodynamic instability due to the disruption of supraspinal projections to the sympathetic circuits located in the spinal cord. We recently developed a preclinical model that allows the identification of the topology and dynamics through which sympathetic circuits modulate hemodynamics, supporting the development of a neuroprosthetic baroreflex that precisely controls blood pressure in rats, monkeys and humans with spinal cord injuries. Here, we describe the continuous monitoring of arterial blood pressure and sympathetic nerve activity over several months in preclinical models of chronic neurological disorders using commercially available telemetry technologies, as well as optogenetic and neuronal tract-tracing procedures specifically adapted to the sympathetic circuitry. Using a blueprint to construct a negative-pressure chamber, the approach enables the reproduction, in rats, of well-controlled and reproducible episodes of hypotension-mimicking orthostatic challenges already used in humans. Blood pressure variations can thus be directly induced and linked to the molecular, functional and anatomical properties of specific neurons in the brainstem, spinal cord and ganglia. Each procedure can be completed in under 2 h, while the construction of the negative-pressure chamber requires up to 1 week. With training, individuals with a basic understanding of cardiovascular physiology, engineering or neuroscience can collect longitudinal recordings of hemodynamics and sympathetic nerve activity over several months.

Fluid shift versus body size: changes of hematological parameters and body fluid volume in hindlimb-unloaded mice, rats and rabbits

The cardiovascular system is adapted to gravity, and reactions to the loss of gravity in space are presumably dependent on body size. The dependence of hematological parameters and body fluid volume on simulated microgravity have never been studied as an allometric function before. Thus, we estimated red blood cell (RBC), blood and extracellular fluid volume in hindlimb-unloaded (HLU) or control (attached) mice, rats and rabbits. RBC decrease was found to be size independent, and the allometric dependency for RBC loss in HLU and control animals shared a common power (-0.054±0.008) but a different Y₀ coefficient (8.66±0.40 and 10.73±0.49, respectively, P<0.05). Blood volume in HLU animals was unchanged compared with that of controls, disregarding body size. The allometric dependency of interstitial fluid volume in HLU and control mice shared Y₀ (1.02±0.09) but had different powers N (0.708±0.017 and 0.648±0.016, respectively, P<0.05), indicating that the interstitial fluid volume increase during hindlimb unloading is more pronounced in larger animals. Our data underscore the importance of size-independent mechanisms of cardiovascular adaptation to weightlessness. Despite the fact that the use of mice hampers application of a straightforward translational approach, this species is useful for gravitational biology as a tool to investigate size-independent mechanisms of mammalian adaptation to microgravity.

BION-M 1: First continuous blood pressure monitoring in mice during a 30-day spaceflight

Animals are an essential component of space exploration and have been used to demonstrate that weightlessness does not disrupt essential physiological functions. They can also contribute to space research as models of weightlessness-induced changes in humans. Animal research was an integral component of the 30-day automated Russian biosatellite Bion-M 1 space mission. The aim of the hemodynamic experiment was to estimate cardiovascular function in mice, a species roughly 3000 times smaller than humans, during prolonged spaceflight and post-flight recovery, particularly, to investigate if mice display signs of cardiovascular deconditioning. For the first time, heart rate (HR) and blood pressure (BP) were continuously monitored using implantable telemetry during spaceflight and recovery. Decreased HR and unchanged BP were observed during launch, whereas both HR and BP dropped dramatically during descent. During spaceflight, BP did not change from pre-flight values. However, HR increased, particularly during periods of activity. HR remained elevated after spaceflight and was accompanied by increased levels of exercise-induced tachycardia. Loss of three of the five mice during the flight as a result of the hardware malfunction (unrelated to the telemetry system) and thus the limited sample number constitute the major limitation of the study. For the first time BP and HR were continuously monitored in mice during the 30-day spaceflight and 7-days of post-flight recovery. Cardiovascular deconditioning in these tiny quadruped mammals was reminiscent of that in humans. Therefore, the loss of hydrostatic pressure in space, which is thought to be the initiating event for human cardiovascular adaptation in microgravity, might be of less importance than other physiological mechanisms. Further experiments with larger number of mice are needed to confirm these findings.

Differential constrictor responses of cephalic and caudal vasculature to α-adrenoceptor agonist after hind limb unloading

We examined the effects of hind limb unloading (HLU, 14 days) on constriction of carotid and iliac arterial beds in vivo in thiobutabarbital-anaesthetized rats and isolated carotid and iliac arteries in vitro. Both control and HLU rats had similar arterial pressure and carotid and iliac arterial flows. The HLU rats had increased carotid arterial but reduced iliac arterial constriction in response to methoxamine (α1-adrenoceptor agonist) in vivo. In contrast, constriction in response to methoxamine was reduced in the isolated carotid and unchanged in the iliac artery of HLU rats relative to control rats. Thus, HLU is associated with increased constriction of carotid arterial bed but reduced constriction of the isolated carotid artery, and reduced constriction of iliac arterial bed but unchanged constriction of the isolated iliac artery. These results show differential influence of HLU on constriction of cephalic and caudal arterial beds, and differential effect on constrictions of arterial beds relative to conduit arteries.

Prolactin-releasing peptide regulates the cardiovascular system via corticotrophin-releasing hormone

Prolactin-releasing peptide (PrRP)-producing neurones are known to be localised mainly in the medulla oblongata and to act as a stress mediator in the central nervous system. In addition, central administration of PrRP elevates the arterial pressure and heart rate. However, the neuronal pathway of the cardiovascular effects of PrRP has not been revealed. In the present study, we demonstrate that PrRP-immunoreactive neurones projected to the locus coeruleus (LC) and the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) of the hypothalamus. The c-fos positive neurones among the noradrenaline cells in the LC, and the parvo- and magnocellular neurones in the PVN, were increased after central administration of PrRP. The arterial pressure and heart rate were both elevated after i.c.v. administration of PrRP. Previous studies have demonstrated that PrRP stimulated the neurones in the PVN [i.e. oxytocin-, vasopressin- and corticotrophin-releasing hormone (CRH)-producing neurones], which suggests that PrRP may induce its cardiovascular effect via arginine vasopressin (AVP) or CRH. Although the elevation of blood pressure and heart rate elicited by PrRP administration were not inhibited by an AVP antagonist, they were completely suppressed by treatment with a CRH antagonist. Thus, we conclude that PrRP stimulated CRH neurones in the PVN and that CRH might regulate the cardiovascular system via the sympathetic nervous system.

Cardiovascular changes of conscious rats after simulated microgravity with and without daily −Gx gravitation

This study was designed to test the hypothesis that postsuspension cardiovascular manifestation in conscious rats after a medium-term (28-day) tail suspension (SUS) is hypertensive and tachycardiac and can be prevented by a countermeasure of daily 1-h dorsoventral (−G x) gravitation provided by standing (STD). To assess associated changes in cardiovascular regulation, blood pressure (BP) and heart rate (HR) variability were analyzed by spectral analysis computed by parametric autoregressive (AR) method and by nonlinear recurrence quantification analysis (RQA) and approximate entropy (ApEn) measure. The results showed that conscious SUS rats manifested hypertensive and tachycardiac response before and after being released from suspension compared with the controls, and the countermeasure of 1 h/day −G x prevented the hypertensive response. Auto- and cross-spectral analysis and transfer function analysis did not show significant changes in cardiovascular variability. However, SUS decreased the three RQA indexes [recurrence percentage (RC%), determinism percentage (DT%), and the longest diagonal line ( Lmax)] of systolic BP, whereas STD alleviated these changes. ApEn values of HR data sets were significantly higher in the SUS and SUS + STD groups compared with those of the control group before and after release from suspension. The present study has demonstrated that daily −G x for as short as 1 h is sufficient to prevent postsuspension cardiovascular alteration in conscious rats after a medium-term SUS. Nonlinear measures, but not spectral analysis, might provide promising data to estimate the overall changes in cardiovascular autonomic regulation due to microgravity exposure.

Inverse-Orthostasis May Induce Elevation of Blood Pressure due to Sympathetic Activation

Microgravity and simulated microgravity may cause cardiovascular deconditioning, but mechanisms of instantaneous responses to inverse-orthostasis are not studied. Hence, we investigated transient and steady state cardiovascular changes by combining the tilt technique with cardiovascular telemetry. Normotensive and NO-deprived hypertensive Wistar rats were used to analyze responses of mean arterial blood pressure, heart rate, contractility, spontaneous baroreflex sensitivity (sBRS), and autonomic balance. Inverse-orthostasis tests were carried out by 45 degrees head-down tilting (repeated 3 x 5 mins "R", or sustained for 120 mins "S"). In normotensive rats, horizontal control blood pressure was R111.3 +/- 1.7/S110.4 +/- 2.3 mm Hg and heart rate was R385.2 +/- 5.9/S371.1 +/- 6.1 BPM. Head-down tilt induced an increase in blood pressure by R5.9/S10.6 mm Hg, while heart rate, contractility, sBRS, and autonomic balance did not change. The hypertensive response was sustained, could be prevented by prazosin (10 mg/kgbw), and augmented by subanesthetic doses of chloralose (26 and 43 mg/kgbw). In NO-suppressed hypertension, control blood pressure and heart rate were R132.4 +/- 2.9/S130.0 +/- 4.1 mm Hg and R339.2 +/- 7.9/S307.2 +/- 23.6 BPM, respectively. Head-down tilt further increased blood pressure by R5.1/S10.5 mm Hg. These data demonstrate that conscious rats respond to inverse-orthostasis by sustained elevation of blood pressure independent of NO synthesis. This response is neither due to increased contractility and altered sBRS, nor due to non-specific stress, but probably due to sympathetic activation elicited by gravity-related reflexes, which increase peripheral resistance.