Long-term modulation of respiratory network activity following anoxia in vitro

Gasping activity in vitro: a rhythm dependent on 5-HT2A receptors

Many rhythmic behaviors are continuously modulated by endogenous peptides and amines, but whether neuromodulation is critical to the expression of a rhythmic behavior often remains unknown, particularly in mammals. Here, we address this issue in the respiratory network that was isolated in spontaneously rhythmic medullary slice preparations from mice. Under control conditions, the respiratory network generates fictive eupneic activity. We hypothesized previously that this activity depends on two types of pacemaker neurons. The bursting properties of one pacemaker rely on the persistent sodium current (INa(p)) and are insensitive to blockade of calcium channels with cadmium (CI-pacemakers), whereas bursting mechanisms of a second pacemaker are sensitive to cadmium (CS-pacemakers) and the calcium-dependent nonspecific cation current blocker flufenamic acid. During hypoxia, fictive eupneic activity is supplanted by the neural correlate of gasping, which is proposed to depend only on CI-pacemakers. Because CI-pacemakers require endogenous activation of 5-HT2A receptors, we tested the hypothesis that 5-HT2A receptor activation is critical for gasping. Here, we demonstrate that fictive gasping and CI-pacemaker bursting were selectively eliminated by the 5-HT2A receptor antagonist piperidine or ketanserin. Neither 5-HT2A antagonist eliminated bursting by CS-pacemakers and ventral respiratory group (VRG) population activity. However, this VRG activity was very different from eupneic activity. In the presence of 5-HT2A antagonists, VRG activity was eliminated by flufenamic acid and could not be reliably restored by adding substance P. These data support the hypothesis that two types of pacemaker bursting mechanisms underlie fictive eupnea, whereas only one burst mechanism is critical for gasping.

Mitochondrial K(ATP) channels in respiratory neurons and their role in the hypoxic facilitation of rhythmic activity

Hypoxia is damaging in neurons, but it can also produce beneficial effects by consolidating the activity of neural networks such as facilitation of respiratory activity [T.L. Baker-Herman, D.D. Fuller, R.W. Bavis, A.G. Zabka, F.J. Golder, N.J. Doperalski, R.A. Johnson, J.J. Watters, G.S. Mitchell, Nature Neuroscience 7 (2004) 48-55; J.L. Feldman, G.S. Mitchell, E.E. Nattie, Ann. Rev. Neurosci. 26 (2003) 239-266; D.M. Blitz, J.M. Ramirez, J. Neurophysiol. 87 (2002) 2964-2971]. The underlying mechanisms are unknown, and we hypothesized they may be similar to ischemic preconditioning in the heart, involving mitochondrial K(ATP) (mK(ATP)) channels. By measuring the mitochondrial potential (Psi(m)) and Ca2+ ([Ca2+]m) in neurons of pre-Botzinger complex (pBC), we examined the functional expression of mK(ATP) channels in the respiratory network. The opener of mK(ATP) channels diazoxide decreased Psi(m) and [Ca2+]m both in pBC neurons and in isolated immobilized mitochondria. 5-Hydroxydecanoate (5-HD), the blocker of mK(ATP) channels, increased both Psi(m) and [Ca2+]m. Phorbol 12-myristate-13-acetate (PMA) mimicked the effects of diazoxide. Protein kinase C (PKC) was stimulated during hypoxia that occurred mostly at the mitochondria. Brief hypoxia induced facilitation of the respiratory activity, which was prevented after blockade of mK(ATP) channels with 5-HD and PKC with staurosporine. Diazoxide potentiated the motor output and subsequent application of hypoxia was ineffective. We propose that a PKC-induced stimulation of K(ATP) channels in the mitochondria of respiratory neurons is responsible for the hypoxic facilitation of rhythmic activity.

BDNF is necessary and sufficient for spinal respiratory plasticity following intermittent hypoxia

Intermittent hypoxia causes a form of serotonin-dependent synaptic plasticity in the spinal cord known as phrenic long-term facilitation (pLTF). Here we show that increased synthesis of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in the spinal cord is necessary and sufficient for pLTF in adult rats. We found that intermittent hypoxia elicited serotonin-dependent increases in BDNF synthesis in ventral spinal segments containing the phrenic nucleus, and the magnitude of these BDNF increases correlated with pLTF magnitude. We used RNA interference (RNAi) to interfere with BDNF expression, and tyrosine kinase receptor inhibition to block BDNF signaling. These disruptions blocked pLTF, whereas intrathecal injection of BDNF elicited an effect similar to pLTF. Our findings demonstrate new roles and regulatory mechanisms for BDNF in the spinal cord and suggest new therapeutic strategies for treating breathing disorders such as respiratory insufficiency after spinal injury. These experiments also illustrate the potential use of RNAi to investigate functional consequences of gene expression in the mammalian nervous system in vivo.

Response of the respiratory network of mice to hyperthermia

Most mammals modulate respiratory frequency (RF) to dissipate heat (i.e., panting) and avoid heat stroke during hyperthermic conditions. During hyperthermia, the RF of intact mammals increases and then declines or ceases (apnea). It has been proposed that this RF modulation depends on the presence of higher brain structures such as the hypothalamus. However, the direct effects of hyperthermia on the respiratory neural network have not been examined. To address this issue, the respiratory neural network [i.e., ventral respiratory group (VRG)] was isolated in a brain stem preparation taken from the medulla of mice (P0 -P6). Integrated population activity, predominated by inspiratory neurons, was recorded extracellularly from VRG neurons. The bath temperature was then heated from 30 to 40 degrees C, resulting in a biphasic frequency response in VRG activity. Following an initial six- to sevenfold increase and subsequent decline, fictive RF was maintained at a frequency that was higher than baseline frequency; at 40 degrees C, the RF was maintained at about two to four times that at 30 degrees C. The inspiratory burst amplitude and duration were significantly reduced during hyperthermic conditions. An increase in RF and decrease in VRG burst amplitude and duration also occurred when heating from 37 to 40 degrees C. Fictive apnea typically occurred during cooling to the control temperature. Furthermore, changes in hypoglossal motor nucleus activity paralleled those of the VRG, suggesting that temperature modulation of the VRG is likely to have a behaviorally relevant impact on respiration. We conclude that the VRG activity itself is modulated during hyperthermia and the respiratory network is particularly sensitive to temperature changes.