The effect on vasopressin release of microinjection of cholinergic agonists into the paraventricular nucleus of conscious rats

Exacerbated effects of prorenin on hypothalamic magnocellular neuronal activity and vasopressin plasma levels during salt-sensitive hypertension

Accumulating evidence supports that the brain renin-angiotensin system (RAS), including prorenin (PR) and its receptor (PRR), two newly discovered RAS players, contribute to sympathoexcitation in salt-sensitive hypertension. Still, whether PR also contributed to elevated circulating levels of neurohormones such as vasopressin (VP) during salt-sensitive hypertension, and if so, what are the precise underlying mechanisms, remains to be determined. To address these questions, we obtained patch-clamp recordings from hypothalamic magnocellular neurosecretory neurons (MNNs) that synthesize the neurohormones oxytocin and VP in acute hypothalamic slices obtained from sham and deoxycorticosterone acetate (DOCA)-salt-treated hypertensive rats. We found that focal application of PR markedly increased membrane excitability and firing responses in MNNs of DOCA-salt, compared with sham rats. This effect included a shorter latency to spike initiation and increased numbers of spikes in response to depolarizing stimuli and was mediated by a more robust inhibition of A-type K⁺ channels in DOCA-salt compared with sham rats. On the other hand, the afterhyperpolarizing potential mediated by the activation of Ca²⁺-dependent K⁺ channel was not affected by PR. mRNA expression of PRR, VP, and the Kv4.3 K⁺ channel subunit in the supraoptic nucleus of DOCA-salt hypertensive rats was increased compared with sham rats. Finally, we report a significant decrease of plasma VP levels in neuron-selective PRR knockdown mice treated with DOCA-salt, compared with wild-type DOCA-salt-treated mice. Together, these results support that activation of PRR contributes to increased excitability and firing discharge of MNNs and increased plasma levels of VP in DOCA-salt hypertension.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Our studies support that prorenin (PR) and its receptor (PRR) within the hypothalamus contribute to elevated plasma vasopressin levels in deoxycorticosterone acetate-salt hypertension, in part because of an exacerbated effect of PR on magnocellular neurosecretory neuron excitability; Moreover, our study implicates A-type K+ channels as key underlying molecular targets mediating these effects. Thus, PR/PRR stands as a novel therapeutic target for the treatment of neurohumoral activation in salt-sensitive hypertension.

Nicotinic Cholinergic System in the Hypothalamus Modulates the Activity of the Hypothalamic Neuropeptides During the Stress Response

BACKGROUND

The hypothalamus harbors high levels of cholinergic neurons and axon terminals. Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, which play an important role in cholinergic neurotransmission, are expressed abundantly in the hypothalamus. Accumulating evidence reveals a regulatory role for nicotine in the regulation of the stress responses. The present review will discuss the hypothalamic neuropeptides and their interaction with the nicotinic cholinergic system. The anatomical distribution of the cholinergic neurons, axon terminals and nicotinic receptors in discrete hypothalamic nuclei will be described. The effect of nicotinic cholinergic neurotransmission and nicotine exposure on hypothalamic-pituitaryadrenal (HPA) axis regulation at the hypothalamic level will be analyzed in view of the different neuropeptides involved.

METHODS

Published research related to nicotinic cholinergic regulation of the HPA axis activity at the hypothalamic level is reviewed.

RESULTS

The nicotinic cholinergic system is one of the major modulators of the HPA axis activity. There is substantial evidence supporting the regulation of hypothalamic neuropeptides by nicotinic acetylcholine receptors. However, most of the studies showing the nicotinic regulation of hypothalamic neuropeptides have employed systemic administration of nicotine. Additionally, we know little about the nicotinic receptor distribution on neuropeptide-synthesizing neurons in the hypothalamus and the physiological responses they trigger in these neurons.

CONCLUSION

Disturbed functioning of the HPA axis and hypothalamic neuropeptides results in pathologies such as depression, anxiety disorders and obesity, which are common and significant health problems. A better understanding of the nicotinic regulation of hypothalamic neuropeptides will aid in drug development and provide means to cope with these diseases. Considering that nicotine is also an abused substance, a better understanding of the role of the nicotinic cholinergic system on the HPA axis will aid in developing improved therapeutic strategies for smoking cessation.

A-type K+ channels contribute to the prorenin increase of firing activity in hypothalamic vasopressin neurosecretory neurons

Recent studies have supported an important contribution of prorenin (PR) and its receptor (PRR) to the regulation of hypothalamic, sympathetic, and neurosecretory outflows to the cardiovascular system, including systemic release of vasopressin (VP), both under physiological and cardiovascular disease conditions. Still, the identification of precise cellular mechanisms and neuronal/molecular targets remain unknown. We have recently shown that PRR is expressed in VP neurons and that their activation increases neuronal activity. However, the underlying ionic channel mechanisms are undefined. Here, we performed patch-clamp electrophysiology from identified VP neurons in acute hypothalamic slices obtained from enhanced green fluorescent protein-VP transgenic rats. Voltage-clamp recordings showed that PR inhibited the magnitude of A-type K⁺ current (I_A; ~50% at -25 mV), a subthreshold voltage-dependent current that restrains VP firing activity. PR also increased the inactivation rate of I_A and shifted the steady-state voltage-dependent inactivation function toward more hyperpolarized membrane potential (~7 mV shift), thus resulting in less channel availability to be activated at any given membrane potential. PR also inhibited a sustained component of I_A ("window" current). PR-mediated changes in action potential waveform and increased firing activity were occluded when I_A was blocked by 4-aminopyridine. Finally, PR failed to increase superoxide production within the supraoptic nucleus/paraventricular nucleus, and PR excitatory effects persisted in slices treated with the SOD mimetic tempol. Taken together, these experiments indicated that PR excitatory effects on vasopressin neurons involve inhibition of I_A, due, in part, to increases in its voltage-dependent inactivation properties. Moreover, our results indicate that PR effects did not involve an increase in oxidative stress.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Here, we demonstrate that prorenin/the prorenin receptor is an important signaling unit for the regulation of vasopressin firing activity and, thus, systemic hormonal release. We identified A-type K⁺ channels as key molecular targets mediating prorenin stimulation of vasopressin neuronal activity, thus standing as a potential therapeutic target for neurohumoral activation in cardiovascular disease.

Intracerebroventricular choline increases plasma vasopressin and augments plasma vasopressin response to osmotic stimulation and hemorrhage

Intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) injection of choline (50-150 microg), a precursor of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, produced a time-and dose-dependent increase in plasma vasopressin levels in conscious, freely moving rats. The increase in plasma vasopressin in response to i.c.v. choline (150 microg) was inhibited by pretreatment with the nicotinic receptor antagonist, mecamylamine (50 microg; i.c.v.), but not by the muscarinic receptor antagonist, atropine (10 microg; i.c.v). The choline-induced rise in plasma vasopressin levels was greatly attenuated by hemicholinium-3 (HC-3; 20 microg; i.c.v.), a neuronal choline uptake inhibitor. Choline (50 or 150 microg; i.c.v.) produced a much greater increase in plasma vasopressin levels in osmotically stimulated or hemorrhaged rats than in normal rats. Choline (150 microg; i.c.v.) also enhanced plasma vasopressin response to graded hemorrhage; the enhancing effect of choline was also attenuated by HC-3 (20 microg; i.c.v.). Choline and acetylcholine concentrations in hypothalamic dialysates increased significantly following i.c.v. injection of choline (150 microg). It is concluded that choline increases plasma vasopressin levels by stimulating central nicotinic receptors indirectly, through the enhancement of acetylcholine synthesis and release, and augments the ability of osmotic stimulations or hemorrhage to stimulate vasopressin release.

Male-female differences in rat hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis responses to nicotine stimulation

Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis responsiveness differs physiologically and pharmacologically between the sexes (sexual diergism). Central nicotinic receptors modulate this endocrine axis. Previous studies have established that nicotine (NIC) stimulates the HPA axis; however, only male animals have been used. We have demonstrated that plasma arginine vasopressin (AVP) and adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) concentrations showed greater responsiveness in male than in female rats pretreated with scopolamine (SCOP), a muscarinic antagonist, followed by physostigmine (PHYSO), an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor. These results suggest that the SCOP + PHYSO effects may have resulted from an indirect nicotinic effect caused by increased synaptic acetylcholine with simultaneous muscarinic antagonism. In the present study, we investigated nicotinic cholinergic influences on HPA axis activity in male and female rats by administering NIC (0, 0.03, 0.1, 0.3, or 0.5 mg/kg) and determining plasma AVP, ACTH, and corticosterone (CORT) responses. Male rats had a significantly greater, dose-related AVP response to NIC than did females. In contrast, female rats had significantly greater, dose-related ACTH and CORT responses to NIC than did males. Hormone responses following NIC were similar to hormone responses following SCOP + PHYSO. These results suggest nicotinic receptors influence the HPA axis differentially in male and female rats.

Sexual diergism in rat hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis responses to cholinergic stimulation and antagonism

The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis has differential physiological activity in male and female animals (sexual diergism). Central cholinergic systems stimulate this endocrine axis. In the present study we investigated muscarinic and nicotinic cholinergic influences on HPA axis activity in male and female rats by pretreatment with selective cholinergic receptor antagonists followed by stimulation with physostigmine (PHYSO), an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor. Hormonal measures were plasma arginine vasopressin (AVP), adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), and corticosterone (CORT). Male rats had significantly greater AVP and ACTH responses to PHYSO alone than did females. Scopolamine (SCOP) enhanced the AVP response to PHYSO to a greater extent in males than in females. In contrast, mecamylamine (MEC) enhanced the AVP response in females but decreased it in males. SCOP potentiated, and MEC inhibited, the stimulatory effect of PHYSO on ACTH in both sexes, but SCOP potentiation was greater in males, and MEC inhibition was greater in females. Absolute CORT increases following PHYSO were greater in females, but percent increases over baseline were greater in males. Similar to their effects on ACTH responses, MEC attenuated, and SCOP enhanced, CORT responses to PHYSO. These results suggest that cholinergic receptor subtypes may influence HPA axis activity differentially in male and female rats.

Functional sex differences ('sexual diergism') of central nervous system cholinergic systems, vasopressin, and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activity in mammals: a selective review

Sexual dimorphism of the mammalian central nervous system (CNS) has been widely documented. Morphological sex differences in brain areas underlie sex differences in function. To distinguish sex differences in physiological function from underlying sexual dimorphisms, we use the term, sexual diergism, to encompass differences in function between males and females. Whereas the influence of sex hormones on CNS morphological characteristics and function of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis has been well-documented, little is known about sexual diergism of CNS control of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Many studies have been conducted on both men and women but have not reported comparisons between them, and many animal studies have used males or females, but not both. From a diergic standpoint, the CNS cholinergic system appears to be more responsive to stress and other stimuli in female than in male mammals; but from a dimorphic standpoint, it is anatomically larger, higher in cell density, and more stable with age in males than in females. Dimorphism often produces diergism, but age, hormones, environment and genetics contribute differentially. This review focuses on the sexual diergism of CNS cholinergic and vasopressinergic systems and their relationship to the HPA axis, with resulting implications for the study of behavior, disease, and therapeutics.

Cardiovascular responses evoked by carbachol microinjection into the posterior hypothalamus involves ganglionic nicotinic and muscarinic mechanisms

1. Microinjection of the cholinergic agonist carbachol (3.3, 5.5 and 13.2 nmol) into the posterior hypothalamic nucleus of conscious rats evokes a dose-dependent increase in blood pressure. The pressor response evoked by the lower doses of carbachol was attenuated by pretreatment with the ganglionic nicotinic receptor antagonist pentolinium (10 mg kg(-1), i.v.) while blockade of V1-vasopressin receptors with [d(CH2)5Tyr(Me)]AVP (20 microg kg(-1), i.v.) reduced the pressor response evoked by the highest dose. 2. The combination of pentolinium and the muscarinic receptor antagonist methylatropine (2 mg kg(-1), i.v.) completely blocked the response evoked by the lower doses while the addition of [d(CH2)5Tyr(Me)]AVP to these two antagonists was required for further inhibition of the pressor response to the highest dose of carbachol. Bilateral adrenal demedullation did not affect the pressor response evoked by 5.5 or 13.2 nmol of carbachol. 3. Treatment of intact and adrenal demedullated rats with pentolinium after the pressor response to 13.2 nmol of carbachol was underway reversed the pressor response, but not to the same degree as that provided by the combination of pentolinium and methylatropine, or pentolinium and [d(CH2)5Tyr(Me)]AVP. 4. Methylatropine or [d(CH2)5Tyr(Me)]AVP caused a slight reversal of the carbachol-induced pressor response once it was underway in intact rats. Methylatropine given before or after pentolinium worked with the pentolinium to completely reverse the response. Methylatropine given alone reversed the bradycardia evoked by carbachol to a tachycardia which itself was antagonized by subsequent treatment with pentolinium. 5. These results suggest that the pressor response evoked by carbachol microinjection into the posterior hypothalamic nucleus of conscious rats involves sympathoexcitation and vasopressin release. The sympathoexcitation involves nicotinic and muscarinic receptors in autonomic ganglia.

Release of vasopressin and oxytocin by excitatory amino acid agonists and the effect of antagonists on release by muscarine and hypertonic saline, in the rat in vivo

1. It has been claimed that glutamate is the dominant excitatory neurotransmitter in neuroendocrine regulation. The evidence is derived mainly from in vitro experiments. 2. We have investigated in vivo a possible role of excitatory amino acids (EAAs) in the neural control of release of vasopressin (AVP) and oxytocin from the neurohypophysis. 3. In rats under ethanol anaesthesia in which a diuresis was maintained by a constant fluid load, the i.c.v. injection of glutamate and the synthetic agonists alpha-amino, 3-hydroxy-5-methyl-isoxazole-4-propionate (AMPA) and N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) produced an antidiuretic response (ADR) which was abolished by an AVP antagonist. For AMPA and NMDA it was shown that this ADR was accompanied by increased urinary excretion of AVP and oxytocin. 4. The selectivity of antagonists was tested in this system. D-2-Amino-5-phosphonopentanoate (D-AP5) blocked the responses to NMDA but not to AMPA; 6-cyano-7-nitroquinoxaline-2, 3-dione (CNQX) blocked the responses to both agonists. 5. The ADR to muscarine and hypertonic saline i.c.v., and the increase in excretion of AVP and oxytocin in response to muscarine, were blocked by CNQX but not by D-AP5. 6. The results suggest that hypertonic saline releases AVP and muscarine releases both AVP and oxytocin, at least in part, by activating a glutaminergic input to the SON and PVN involving an AMPA receptor. This input could function as a terminal interneurone in afferent neural pathways to these nuclei.

Regional haemodynamic effects of carbachol injected into the hypothalamic paraventricular nuclei of conscious, unrestrained rats

Carbachol was injected into the hypothalamic paraventricular nuclei (PVN) of conscious, unrestrained Long Evans rats, chronically instrumented with intravascular catheters and pulsed Doppler probes to assess changes in regional haemodynamics. Bilateral microinjections of carbachol (1 ng-1 microgram) produced increases in blood pressure, bradycardias and vasoconstrictions in renal, superior mesenteric and hindquarters vascular beds. In the presence of phentolamine, the bradycardic and hindquarters vasoconstrictor responses to carbachol were unchanged while the pressor response was smaller due to a reduction in the renal and the superior mesenteric vasoconstriction. In the presence of propranolol, the bradycardic response was reduced, but the pressor and renal vasoconstrictor responses were potentiated, whereas the superior mesenteric and hindquarter vasoconstrictions were not changed significantly. In the presence of phentolamine and propranolol, the heart rate and pressor responses, as well as the renal vasoconstriction, were unchanged, whereas the superior mesenteric vasoconstriction was reduced and the hindquarters vasoconstriction was potentiated. Together these results are consistent with an involvement of the sympathoadrenal system in the pressor response to carbachol injected into the PVN of untreated animals. They indicate that alpha-adrenoceptor-mediated vasoconstriction in the superior mesenteric vascular bed is a particularly important component in that regard. In the presence of the vasopressin antagonist, d(CH2)5(Tyr(Et))DAVP, alone or in combination with phentolamine and propranolol, the pressor response to carbachol was substantially reduced, while the renal and superior mesenteric vasoconstrictor effects were completely abolished; the bradycardia was not significantly affected by this treatment. These results indicate an important involvement of vasopressin in the cardiovascular responses to carbachol injected into the PVN of untreated animals. Moreover, in the presence of the vasopressin antagonist the hindquarters vascular bed showed a vasodilatation following PVN injection of carbachol; this effect was reversed to a vasoconstriction following combined i.v. pretreatment with the vasopressin antagonist, phentolamine and propranolol and hence was possibly due to circulating adrenaline acting on vasodilator beta 2-adrenoceptors. However, there was a residual hindquarters vasoconstriction raising the possibility that non-adrenergic, non-vasopressinergic vasoconstrictor mechanisms were influencing that vascular bed.

Central carbachol stimulates vasopressin release into interstitial fluid adjacent to the paraventricular nucleus

We have used an in vivo double microdialysis probe technique in conscious rats to determine whether the application of carbachol to one paraventricular nucleus (PVN) can result in increased local release of vasopressin from that PVN. Experiments were carried out 24 h after placement of microdialysis probes lateral to each PVN. When both probes were perfused initially with 0.9% NaCl, vasopressin was detected in the outflow (dialysate) from both probes. When carbachol (100 micrograms/ml) was included in the perfusate of one probe for the first 10 min of a 30-min collection period, while the other probe continued to be perfused with saline alone, there was a seven-fold increase in the concentration of vasopressin in the dialysate from the carbachol-perfused probe; the vasopressin concentration in the dialysate from the contralateral probe increased only slightly. The plasma vasopressin concentration was also elevated. When one of the paired probes was perfused with carbachol (100 micrograms/ml) for 30 min, there were similar increases in the concentration of vasopressin in the dialysate from both probes and a sustained increase in the plasma vasopressin concentration. Thus, vasopressin is released into the interstitial fluid adjacent to the PVN under basal conditions, and this release can be substantially increased when vasopressin secretion to the periphery is stimulated.

The effect of neosurugatoxin on the release of neurohypophysial hormones by nicotine, hypotension and an osmotic stimulus in the rat

1. Experiments were carried out to test whether neosurugatoxin (NSTX) which blocks autonomic ganglia also acts centrally, like hexamethonium, on nicotinic cholinoceptors involved in the neural control of release of vasopressin and oxytocin from the neurohypophysis. 2. In the water-loaded rat under ethanol anaesthesia, nicotine 100 micrograms i.v. produced a pressor and an antidiuretic response accompanied by an increase in the urinary excretion of vasopressin and of oxytocin-like radioimmunoreactivity (OLRI). This indicates release of both vasopressin and oxytocin. 3. Under conditions in which tachyphylaxis was avoided, NSTX, 80 ng i.c.v., caused a prolonged inhibition of the release of both hormones by nicotine. 4. NSTX i.c.v. caused some reduction in the pressor response to nicotine. It is suggested that this response involves both central and peripheral stimulation of the sympathetic nervous system and that the central component is blocked by neosurugatoxin. 5. Muscarine, 40 ng i.c.v., produced a pressor and an antidiuretic response with increased urinary excretion of vasopressin and OLRI. All these effects were blocked by atropine but were not inhibited by NSTX. 6. Sodium nitroprusside (SN), 200 micrograms i.v., and hypertonic saline (HS; 1.54 M NaCl solution) 4 microliters i.c.v., both produced antidiuretic responses accompanied by increased urinary excretion of vasopressin and OLRI. The ratio of the excretion of vasopressin to that of OLRI was 5.1 +/- 1.3 (mean +/- s.e.: n = 8) for SN and 1.2 +/- 0.24 (mean +/- s.e.: n = 6) for HS.NSTX 80 ng i.c.v., caused a significant reduction in the antidiuretic response to the hypotension induced with SN: the increased urinary excretion of vasopressin was also significantly reduced but not that of OLRI. NSTX had no effect on the response to HS.7. We conclude that NSTX acts centrally on nicotinic cholinoceptors to block the release of vasopressin and oxytocin by nicotine and the release of vasopressin, but not that of oxytocin, by hypotension. It does not inhibit the release of either hormone by a central osmotic stimulus.

Mechanisms contributing to the differential haemodynamic effects of bombesin and cholecystokinin in conscious, Long Evans rats

1. Long Evans rats were chronically instrumented with intravascular catheters and pulsed Doppler probes to assess changes in renal, mesenteric and hindquarters blood flows and vascular conductances in response to bombesin (2.5 micrograms kg-1, i.v.) and cholecystokinin (CCK) (0.5 and 5.0 micrograms kg-1, i.v.). 2. Bombesin caused an increase in heart rate and blood pressure, together with a transient renal vasoconstriction and prolonged mesenteric vasodilatation; there was an early hindquarters vasodilatation followed by vasoconstriction. 3. In the presence of phentolamine, bombesin caused a fall in blood pressure due to enhanced hindquarters vasodilatation; these effects were reversed by propranolol and hence were possibly due to circulating adrenaline acting on vasodilator beta 2-adrenoceptors. 4. During concurrent administration of phentolamine, propranolol and atropine, bombesin caused prolonged tachycardia and a rise in blood pressure. The renal vasoconstrictor and mesenteric vasodilator effects of bombesin were not reduced under these conditions and thus probably were direct and/or indirect non-adrenergic, non-cholinergic (NANC) effects. 5. CCK caused dose-dependent increases in blood pressure accompanied by renal, mesenteric and hindquarters vasoconstriction followed, after the higher dose, by vasodilatations. The lower dose of CCK increased heart rate but there was a bradycardia followed by a tachycardia after the higher dose. 6. Experiments with antagonists as described above indicated the pressor effect of CCK was mediated largely through alpha-adrenoceptors, as were the mesenteric and hindquarters vasoconstrictor effects; CCK exerted NANC negative chronotropic effects. 7. All the effects of CCK were markedly inhibited by L364,718. This observation, and the finding that L364,718 had no effect on the responses to bombesin, together with the dissimilarities in the regional haemodynamic effects of exogenous CCK and bombesin, indicate that the cardiovascular actions of the latter were not dependent on the release of endogenous CCK.