Respiratory effects of TRH in preterm rabbits

Thyrotropin-releasing hormone accelerates fetal mouse lung ultrastructural maturation via stimulation of extra thyroidal pathway

Maternal administration of TSH-releasing hormone (TRH) in the euthyroid mouse accelerates fetal lung ultrastructural maturation. However, the mechanism(s) of TRH in fetal lung development remains unclear; it could be due to its neuroendocrine and/or neurotransmitter effects. Although the neuroendocrine effect of TRH is mediated via stimulation of the fetal pituitary-thyroid axis, the neurotransmitter effect is mediated via stimulation of fetal autonomic nervous system activity. In the hyt/hyt mouse there is a point mutation in the beta subunit of the TSH receptor in the thyroid gland of the Balb-c mouse. In these mice TSH does not bind to its receptors, leading ultimately to the development of primary hypothyroidism, which is transmitted as an autosomal recessive trait. A maturational delay in the lung ultrastructure of the hyt/hyt mouse fetus has been observed. This investigation was undertaken to study the effect of maternal TRH treatment on lung ultrastructural maturation in the hyt/hyt mouse fetus. If the effect of TRH is mediated via stimulation of fetal pituitary-thyroid axis, TRH treatment should not enhance lung maturity in the hyt/hyt fetus and vice versa. Adult hyt/hyt mice made euthyroid by triiodothyronine supplementation were mated to carry hyt/hyt pups. Saline or TRH (0.4 or 0.6 mg/kg/dose) was administered to the mother (i.p.) on d 16 and 17 (b.i.d.) and on d 18 of pregnancy 1 h before killing (term, approximately 20 d). The fetal lung electron micrographs were subjected to ultrastructural morphometric analysis of the number of lamellar bodies and glycogen/nuclear ratio in type II cells, and the alveolar/parenchymal ratio by Chalkley point counting with an interactive computerized image analyzer (Optimas, Bioscan). Fetal lungs exposed to the lower dose of TRH (n = 7) showed no significant difference in their ultrastructural maturation when compared with saline-treated controls (n = 5). However, fetal lungs exposed to a higher dose of TRH (n = 6) showed increased numbers of lamellar bodies per type II cell, an increase in the alveolar/parenchymal ratio, larger air spaces, thinner alveolar septa, presence of tubular myelin, and increased numbers of air-blood barriers. We conclude that the effect of TRH in accelerating fetal mouse lung maturation is at least in part mediated via stimulation of extra thyroidal pathways.

Thyrotropin-releasing hormone-immunoreactive varicosities synapse on rat phrenic motoneurons

The relationship between retrogradely labelled or intracellularly filled phrenic motoneurons and varicosities containing thyrotropin-releasing hormone immunoreactivity was investigated in rats by light and electron microscopy. Phrenic motoneurons were identified via retrograde tracing from the diaphragm with cholera toxin B subunit, which was followed by immunocytochemistry to visualise retrogradely labelled motoneurons and thyrotropin-releasing hormone-immunoreactive nerve fibres in their vicinity. At the light microscopic level, varicose thyrotropin-releasing hormone-immunoreactive nerve fibres were distributed sparsely in the phrenic motor nucleus, with some axons surrounding retrogradely labelled motoneurons. In separate intracellular experiments, four phrenic motoneurons identified by antidromic activation from the C5 phrenic nerve root were subsequently filled with Neurobiotin, and nerve fibres that contained thyrotropin-releasing hormone immunoreactivity were identified by immunocytochemistry. The numbers and locations of thyrotropin-releasing hormone-immunoreactive varicosities that were closely appeared to the intracellularly labelled motoneurons were mapped using a camera lucida technique. Close appositions by thyrotropin-releasing hormone-immunoreactive varicosities were seen on somata as well as on proximal and distal dendrites. The closely apposed varicosities were usually present in tight clusters, which were formed by single varicose axons. However, the distribution was nonuniform, in that some dendrites did not receive any close appositions. Ultrastructural analysis of random ultrathin sections through retrogradely labelled neurons showed that varicosities with thyrotropin-releasing hormone immunoreactivity made 1.8% of all synapses and direct contacts on somata and 2.3% of synapses and contacts with dendrites of the retrogradely labelled phrenic motoneurons. The results of these experiments suggest that thyrotropin-releasing hormone-immunoreactive varicosities provide similar numbers of inputs to both the somata and dendrites of phrenic motoneurons. These thyrotropin-releasing hormone-containing inputs seen via light and electron microscopy could modulate the excitability of phrenic motoneurons.

Effects of antenatal thyrotropin-releasing hormone, antenatal corticosteroids, and postnatal ventilation on surfactant mobilization in premature rabbits

OBJECTIVE

The effects of antenatal hormones on postnatal surfactant mobilization were evaluated in preterm rabbits.

STUDY DESIGN

Pregnant rabbits were treated with vehicle, betamethasone, or thyrotropin-releasing hormone for 2 days before cesarean section at 29 days' gestation (term 31 days). Newborns were mechanically ventilated or allowed to spontaneously breathe, and groups were compared by analysis of variance.

RESULTS

Neither antenatal corticosteroids nor thyrotropin-releasing hormone increased radiolabeled precursor incorporation, alveolar wash or total lung saturated phosphatidylcholine pools, lung clearance of radiolabeled rabbit surfactant, or estimated net secretion of saturated phosphatidylcholine. However, saturated phosphatidylcholine pools in alveolar wash increased 2.7-fold during the first 24 hours in spontaneously breathing rabbits versus 2.1-fold in mechanically ventilated thyrotropin-releasing hormone-treated and control rabbits (p less than 0.05). In addition, estimated net secretion of precursor-derived saturated phosphatidylcholine was 50% higher after 24 hours in spontaneously breathing rabbits.

CONCLUSION

Mechanical ventilation may have hindered the mobilization of surfactant saturated phosphatidylcholine pools to the alveolar space after birth in preterm rabbits, but maternal hormonal therapies did not appear to influence this adaptive process or change surfactant metabolism.

Thyrotropin-releasing hormone in ovine fetus: ontogeny and effect of thyroid hormone

The ontogenesis of hypothalamic and extrahypothalamic thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) and the effect of altered thyroid status on tissue TRH levels were studied in fetal sheep. At 62 days gestation (term = 145 days) TRH was detectable in serum and in hypothalamic, placental, and pancreatic tissues; pancreatic, placental, and serum levels exceeded hypothalamic levels two- to fivefold. Analysis of tissues obtained from 88-day gestation fetuses were comparable: TRH levels in placenta (54 +/- 15 pg/mg tissue protein), pancreas (34 +/- 5 pg/mg protein), and serum (93 +/- 9 pg/ml) exceeded those in hypothalamic extracts (15 +/- 9 pg/mg protein). By 120 days gestation, TRH values in the hypothalamus (610 +/- 52 pg/mg protein) exceeded those in extrahypothalamic sites; values were comparable at 140 days gestation. Fetal thyroidectomy resulted in a 2-fold elevation of hypothalamic TRH concentrations (1,030 +/- 139 vs. 522 +/- 29 pg/mg protein) and 2 to 20-fold elevations of TRH in the placenta (147 +/- 23 vs. 42 +/- 8 pg/mg protein), pancreas (195 +/- 11 vs. 29 +/- 7 pg/mg protein), duodenum (363 +/- 97 vs. 29 +/- 7 pg/mg protein), and serum (2,563 +/- 212 vs. 131 +/- 16 pg/ml). 3, 5, 3'-Triiodothyronine (T3) infusion in thyroidectomized fetuses resulted in elevated serum T3 values (480 +/- 80 ng/dl) and suppressed hypothalamic TRH (249 +/- 68 vs. 522 +/- 29 pg/mg protein) and serum TRH concentrations (30 +/- 4 vs. 131 +/- 156 pg/ml). Placental, pancreatic, and duodenal TRH concentrations in thyroidectomized T3-infused animals were below the level of detection of the assay (5 pg/mg tissue protein).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Dose response of thyrotropin-releasing hormone on pulmonary maturation in corticosteroid-treated preterm rabbits

The dose-response effect of thyrotropin-releasing hormone in enhancing pulmonary maturation was investigated with six dosing regimens. Pregnant does received thyrotropin-releasing hormone (5, 10, or 50 micrograms/kg every 12 hours for four doses or one dose of 20 micrograms/kg) in conjunction with betamethasone beginning on day 25 of gestation, with betamethasone alone or saline solution used as comparison treatment groups. Half of the newborn rabbits received supplemental surfactant therapy after delivery on day 27, and all were ventilated on a ventilator plethysmography system for 30 minutes. There were no differences among the four thyrotropin-releasing hormone doses in surfactant pool sizes, compliances, or proteins leak into or out of the air spaces. The groups that received multiple doses of thyrotropin-releasing hormone had significantly higher perinatal loss rates than the single-dose group. The lungs of the group treated with thyrotropin-releasing hormone plus steroid and the rabbits treated only with steroid were more compliant than the controls without surfactant therapy, and showed significant improvements in protein leak. The addition of thyrotropin-releasing hormone to betamethasone improved several of the protein leak measurements compared with use of betamethasone alone. These results question the necessity of multiple doses of thyrotropin-releasing hormone to induce pulmonary maturation, especially when the higher perinatal mortality and the theoretical long-term effects of fetal hyperthyroidism on thyroid axis function are considered.

Effects of thyrotropin-releasing hormone in the fetal lamb

Thyrotropin-releasing hormone causes neurobehavioral arousal and stimulates breathing in adult, newborn, and preterm experimental animals. Its effects on behavioral state, breathing, blood pressure, and heart rate were studied in the chronically instrumented late term fetal lamb. Fetal intravenous administration of thyrotropin-releasing hormone resulted in behavioral arousal with electrocortical desynchronization, increased body and eye movements, rapid and deep breathing movements, and a transient bradycardia followed by prolonged tachycardia, associated with an increase in both systolic and diastolic blood pressure. The effects were similar following intracisternal administration of thyrotropin-releasing hormone. The effects of thyrotropin-releasing hormone on behavior, but not breathing, was abolished in the presence of muscarinic blockade. Thyrotropin-releasing hormone may play a role in the modulation of central regulation of cardiovascular, respiratory, and behavioral activity in the fetus.

Thyrotropin-releasing hormone induces rhythmic bursting in neurons of the nucleus tractus solitarius

The nucleus tractus solitarius (NTS) contains neurons that are part of the central neuronal network controlling rhythmic breathing movements in mammals. Nerve terminals within the NTS show immunoreactivity to thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH), a neuropeptide that has potent stimulatory effects on respiration. By means of a brainstem slice preparation in vitro, TRH induced rhythmic bursting in neurons in the respiratory division of the NTS. The frequency of bursting was voltage-dependent and could be reset by short depolarizing current pulses. In the presence of tetrodotoxin, TRH produced rhythmic oscillations in membrane potential whose frequency was also voltage-dependent. These observations suggest that TRH modulates the membrane excitability of NTS neurons and allows them to express endogenous bursting activity.

Thyrotropin-releasing hormone effects on guinea pig antrum

Thyrotropin-releasing hormone transiently increased resting tension and spontaneous contraction amplitude more potently in longitudinal muscle than in circular muscle. The frequency of the contraction did not change. Excitation was enhanced by eserine, and blocked by atropine and tetrodotoxin; this excitation was, therefore, probably mediated by acetylcholine release from cholinergic neurons in the myenteric plexus. In the presence of atropine, thyrotropin-releasing hormone (10(-10) M) inhibited spontaneous contraction, particularly in longitudinal muscle. This was accompanied by decreased resting tension at and above 10(-8) M. Because contraction was not blocked by adrenergic blockade, indomethacin, methysergide, or hexamethonium, but was abolished by tetrodotoxin, it was postulated that thyrotropin-releasing hormone might stimulate nonadrenergic, noncholinergic inhibitory neurons. There was no cross-tachyphylaxis between 5-hydroxytryptamine and thyrotropin-releasing hormone. Results show that 5-hydroxytryptamine does not interact with thyrotropin-releasing hormone.

Facilitation of inspiration by intracerebroventricular injection of thyrotropin-releasing hormone in rabbits

Effects of fourth cerebroventricular injection of thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) on respiration were studied in vagotomized rabbits. Phrenic neural activity was recorded and integrated. TRH (1.0 microgram) injection facilitated phrenic neural activity and increased respiratory rate. Peak phrenic nerve activity increased slightly or showed no apparent changes when tonic activity appeared. Tidal phrenic neural activity either increased or decreased, depending on relations between peak phrenic activity and tonic activity. Results suggest that TRH facilitates central respiratory activity to induce tonic activity and increase respiratory rate.

Effects of TRH and TRH analogues on the central regulation of breathing in the rat

Respiratory activity was studied in rats during light halothane anesthesia. Thyrotropin releasing hormone (TRH) and two TRH analogues: the desamidated form (TRH-OH) and gamma-butyrolactone-gamma-carbonyl-L-histidyl-L-prolinamide citrate (DN 1417) were administered intracerebroventricularly. TRH 0.5-5 micrograms induced a marked tachypnoea with a rapid onset and a duration of at least 20 min. DN 1417, a potent analogue of TRH with a very low TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) releasing activity was more effective in stimulating respiratory frequency, while TRH-OH, regarded to have neither TSH releasing nor extra hypothalamic effects, at equimolar doses was unable to induce any changes in the respiratory pattern. When TRH was given into the fourth ventricle the dose response curve was slightly shifted to the left. In experiments employing the occluded breath technique, P0.1 was increased in the same magnitude as the mean inspiratory flow (VT/T1). The results also indicated an increase in the gain of the inflation reflex loop whereas the central bulbopontine setting for T1 and TTOT were not significantly changed. Local injection of TRH into the nucleus tractus solitarii induced a stimulation of respiratory frequency which was slower in onset compared to the response seen after injection into the lateral or fourth ventricles. Concomitantly to the respiratory changes, i.c.v. TRH injection induced a hypocarbia and an alkalosis. No changes in blood pressure or heart rate were seen. The respiratory stimulant effect of TRH could be potentiated by pretreatment with naloxone, methylatropine or a low dose of GABA. Haloperidol or propranolol did not significantly change the respiratory effects of TRH, while reserpine pretreatment seemed to blunt some of the ventilatory effects of TRH. It seems likely that TRH has few direct effects on brain stem neurones involved in the central regulation of respiration, but the main effects seem to be elicited in areas rostral to the brain stem. The respiratory stimulating effect of TRH is unrelated to TSH. Furthermore, other neurotransmitter systems might also be involved in modulation of the respiratory stimulation evoked by TRH.