Association between sympathetic nerve activity and cerebrovascular protection in young spontaneously hypertensive rats

Innervation of cerebral arteries by nerves containing 5-hydroxytryptamine and noradrenaline

Noradrenaline (NA)-containing nerves, mainly originating in the sympathetic superior cervical ganglia, supply large and small cerebral arteries. In large cerebral arteries, nerves containing serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT) may represent neuronal uptake of circulating 5-HT by sympathetic nerves. 5-HT-containing nerves supplying small pial vessels probably have a central origin in the dorsal raphe nucleus. In most species, NA is a weak vasoconstrictor (alpha 1- or alpha 2-adrenoceptors), while 5-HT is a potent vasoconstrictor (5-HT2 or 5-HT1-like receptors) of large cerebral arteries. In contrast, both NA and 5-HT tend to cause vasodilatation in small pial vessels and arterioles. Adrenergic and serotonergic transmission can be modulated by pH, a range of putative neurotransmitters and neuromodulators, and by the endothelium. Sumatriptan, a 5-HT1-like receptor agonist, has been shown to be effective in the treatment of migraine. Changes in NA- or 5-HT-containing nerves and/or in the responses of cerebral vessels to NA and 5-HT have been observed in a variety of vascular disorders, including cerebral vasospasm following subarachnoid haemorrhage, hypertension, and atherosclerosis.

Morphometric study of the superior cervical and stellate ganglia of spontaneously hypertensive rats during the prehypertensive stage

To compare the functional state of the superior cervical (SCG) and stellate sympathetic ganglia (SG) of spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) with those of age-matched normotensive Wistar Kyoto rats (WKY), ganglion cell volume and area occupied by ganglion cells relative to each whole ganglionic area were morphometrically examined using the Texture Analyse System (TAS) in rats at 0, 10 and 30 days of age. The weight of each ganglion relative to animal weight was also measured. The ganglion cell volume and the relative area of ganglionic cells in both ganglia of SHR were significantly larger (P less than 0.05) than those of age-matched WKY at ages 0 and 10 days after birth. The relative ganglionic weights of SHR were significantly larger (P less than 0.01) compared with those of WKY at all ages examined, except for SG at 0 days after birth. These results show that the relative volume of sympathetic ganglion cells is greater in both SCG and SG of SHR than that of WKY, suggesting that hyperfunction of sympathetic ganglia occurs at the prehypertensive stage as a primary factor in the development of hypertension in SHR.

Increased density of perivascular adrenergic innervation in tibial and vagus nerves of spontaneously hypertensive rats

Adrenergic innervation of epiperineurial arterioles and of the endoneurium of the tibial and vagus nerves of spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and normotensive controls (WKY) was studied by glyoxylic acid-induced fluorescence and paraformaldehyde-induced fluorescence methods. Adrenergic perivascular innervation of epiperineurial arterioles in both nerves was denser in SHR than in controls. Mean density in the endoneurium also was higher in SHR in both nerve types. These results suggest that adrenergic perivascular innervation, which may influence nerve blood flow, becomes greater in density in peripheral nerves during chronic hypertension.

Increased density of perivascular nerves to the major cerebral vessels of the spontaneously hypertensive rat: differential changes in noradrenaline and neuropeptide Y during development

Fluorescence and immunohistochemical techniques were used to study the pattern and density of perivascular nerves containing noradrenaline (NA) and neuropeptide Y (NPY) supplying the major cerebral arteries of 4-, 6-, 8- and 12-week-old spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and normotensive Wistar (WIS) controls. Levels of NA and NPY in the superior cervical ganglia were measured. The density of nerves containing NA and NPY was greater in the hypertensive animals at all ages studied. However, the developmental changes in the density of innervation showed similar trends in both SHR and WIS groups. With few exceptions, there was a significant increase in the density of nerves containing NA from 4 to 6 weeks and from 8 to 12 weeks of age. This was in contrast to a low expression, and in some vessels a significant decrease in the number of NPY-containing nerves from 4 to 6 weeks. The density of nerve fibres containing NPY increased significantly in almost all vessels between 6 and 8 weeks of age and then stabilized. Thus there is a differential time course for the appearance of NA and NPY during development. Furthermore, the hyperinnervation of cerebral vessels in SHR by nerves containing NA and NPY precedes the onset of hypertension and associated medial hypertrophy. High-performance liquid chromatography and enzyme-linked immunosorbant assays show that the NA and NPY contents of the superior cervical ganglion do not reflect the changes in innervation pattern seen in the terminal fibres in the cerebral arteries. This tends to support the view that a local neurovascular mechanism is involved in the maintenance of hypertension. The possibility that increase in NPY as well as NA in cerebral perivascular nerves of hypertensive animals is involved in the protection of the blood-brain barrier against oedema and cerebral haemorrhage is raised.

Autoradiographic study of 3H-lysine uptake by superior cervical and stellate ganglia in prehypertensive spontaneously hypertensive rats

In order to compare the functional state of sympathetic ganglia in spontaneously hypertensive (SHR) with those in normotensive Wistar Kyoto rats (WKY), protein synthetic activity was examined by light microscopic autoradiography with 3H-lysine. The number of silver grains over the cytoplasm of ganglion cells in the superior cervical and stellate ganglia of newborn and 30-day-old animals were counted on photographic enlargements. In both sympathetic ganglia there were significantly more silver grains over ganglion cells in SHR compared with age-matched WKY at 15, 60, and 120 min after injection of 3H-lysine. The increased incorporation of the label by both sympathetic ganglia was more marked in newborn than in 30-day-old animals. This result shows that protein synthetic activity in these ganglion cells is increased in SHR from the newborn stage. It is suggested that a congenital hyperfunction of sympathetic ganglia occurs in SHR.

Ontogeny of adrenoceptor-mediated contractile responses of Müller's smooth muscle in the spontaneously hypertensive rat: role of impulse activity

Contractile responses of Müller's smooth muscle to alpha-adrenoceptor stimulation were evaluated in anesthetized Spontaneously Hypertensive rats (SHR) and normotensive Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats on postnatal days 1-80. Force of contraction elicited by methoxamine, tyramine and electrical stimulation of the preganglionic nerve in SHRs was significantly less than that of WKY rats throughout development. alpha-Adrenoceptor sensitivity, as evaluated by methoxamine ED50, was comparable at 10 and 20 days of age, but receptor sensitivity was decreased in SHRs at 40 and 80 days. Elimination of impulse activity by decentralization of the superior cervical ganglion on postnatal day 3 resulted in a decrease in force of contraction of about 25% in both strains, and responses in SHRs remained significantly below those of WKY rats. Decentralization increased adrenoceptor sensitivity in both groups, and differences between strains were eliminated. It is concluded that the smaller adrenoceptor-mediated contractions in SHRs are an intrinsic property of the muscle while adrenoceptor subsensitivity is a consequence of elevated sympathetic nerve activity in this strain.

Cerebral blood flow autoregulation and hypertension

Hypertension and antihypertensive therapy have clinically important effects on cerebral blood flow. The autoregulatory changes that occur with chronic arterial hypertension should influence the clinician's choice of antihypertensive agents and the rapidity with which the blood pressure is lowered in order to avoid symptoms of focal or global cerebral hypoperfusion.

Metabolic mapping in the sympathetic ganglia and brain of the spontaneously hypertensive rat

Local rates of glucose utilization in the superior cervical, cardiac, and coeliac ganglia were measured by means of the autoradiographic 2-deoxy-D-[14C]glucose method in male spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and normotensive Wistar-Kyoto rats (WKY), 32-34, 46-48, and 78-87 days old. Brain glucose utilization was examined in 78-87-day-old SHR and WKY. At 32-34 days (at which time mean arterial blood pressure was normal and similar in both groups of rats), the rates of glucose utilization of all three sympathetic ganglia were the same in both groups. At 46-48 days, despite the fact that blood pressure had risen significantly in SHR (mean +/- SEM, 136 +/- 3 mm Hg, n = 5, compared to 113 +/- 3 mm Hg, n = 5, in the control WKY), glucose utilization was decreased in the cardiac and coeliac ganglia but not in the superior cervical ganglia of the SHR. At 78-87 days, glucose utilization was reduced in all the sympathetic ganglia of the hypertensive rats. These results suggest that the sympathetic system is less active in SHR and indicate that hyperactivity of the sympathetic nervous system is not part of the mechanism of the hypertension. Of 44 structures examined in the central nervous system, only the external cuneate, vestibular, and fastigial nuclei of the SHR exhibited increased rates of glucose utilization, and no changes were found in any of the other structures. These increases are probably not related to the origin or maintenance of the hypertension, inasmuch as lesioning of the vestibular or fastigial nuclei did not decrease blood pressure in the SHR.