Blockade of reflex venous capacitance responses in liver and spleen by hexamethonium, atropine, and surgical section

Since hexamethonium and surgical section have been used to prevent reflex splanchnic capacitance responses, we examined the effectiveness of these procedures in blocking responses to direct stimulation of preganglionic fibres in the splanchnic nerves. Liver blood volume was measured by plethysmography and splenic blood volume by weighing in cats anesthetized by pentobarbital. The cats were adrenalectomized to prevent adrenal catecholamine secretion in response to splanchnic nerve stimulation. Hexamethonium (10 and 20 mg/kg) alone or atropine (1 mg/kg) alone caused only a small variable block of the responses to preganglionic nerve stimulation. A combination of the two drugs essentially produced a complete block of the liver capacitance response, but a significant response still persisted in the spleen. Surgical section of the postganglionic nerve bundles around the hepatic and splenic arteries completely abolished the responses to preganglionic stimulation. It is concluded that a relatively complete block of reflex splanchnic capacitance responses requires either a combination of hexamethonium and atropine or surgical section of the postganglionic nerves.Key words: splanchnic nerves, ganglionic block, hepatic blood volume, splenic blood volume.

Effect of naloxone and prolonged preganglionic stimulation on noncholinergic transmission in the superior cervical ganglion of the cat

In cats anesthetized with sodium pentobarbital, a supramaximal 40-Hz, 30-s train to the cervical sympathetic trunk, during block of ganglionic cholinergic transmission with hexamethonium and scopolamine, produced a delayed, slow, small amplitude contraction of the nictitating membrane that persisted for several minutes after the end of the stimulus train. The post-stimulus component of the response was due to afterdischarge of the ganglion cells, since section of the post-ganglionic axons at the end of the train resulted in elimination of this component. The amplitude of the slow nictitating membrane response was enhanced in a dose-dependent manner by i.v. injection of naloxone. The enhancement was detectable at a dose as low as 1 μg/kg and was maximal at 10 μg/kg. During continuous preganglionic stimulation at 40 Hz, the amplitude of the slow nictitating membrane response reached a peak in 2–4 min and then faded with time until it became undetectable. Time for 90% decay was 82 ± 5 min (n = 18). The nictitating membrane response to postganglionic nerve stimulation was not modified by prolonged preganglionic stimulation. In three cats, the cervical sympathetic trunk was split into two bundles and one bundle was stimulated continuously at 40 Hz until the slow response disappeared. At this time stimulation of the unconditioned bundle evoked a slow response of normal appearance. This suggests that the process underlying the fade involves only the conditioned axons. Recovery from the fade was slow, the response approaching control by 24 h post-stimulus. In contrast, the nictitating membrane response mediated by ganglionic nicotinic transmission was of amplitude similar to control within the 1st min after the end of a 2-h period of continuous 40 Hz stimulation. The fade and recovery of the slow response may be the consequence of presynaptic events and reflect the exhaustion followed by slow replenishment of the releasable stores of the noncholinergic transmitter. The enhancement of the slow response by naloxone suggests that an inhibitory noncholinergic transmitter, presumably an opioid, is also released by the preganglionic axon terminals.Key words: peptides, opioids, ganglionic transmission, cotransmitters, synapse.

Slow cardioacceleration mediated by noncholinergic transmission in the stellate ganglion of the cat

In C1-spinal, pentobarbital-anaesthetized or anemically decerebrated cats, the preganglionic input to the acutely decentralized right stellate ganglion was stimulated with 10- to 30-s trains at 20–40 Hz. Electrical stimulation consistently produced an increase in heart rate in the presence of blocking doses of hexamethonium and atropine or after depletion of acetylcholine from the preganglionic axons by prolonged low frequency stimulation in the presence of hemicholinium. The increase in heart rate had a delayed slow onset, lasted several minutes, and was abolished by propranolol or by section of the inferior cardiac nerve. The magnitude and duration of the heart rate increase were related to intensity, frequency, and duration of preganglionic stimulation. The response to stimulation of a given white ramus was progressively attenuated, and eventually irreversibly lost, during prolonged continuous stimulation of that ramus, while the response to stimulation of a different unstimulated ramus was unchanged. We conclude that the slow cardioacceleration results from a slow and prolonged excitation of postganglionic neurons by a noncholinergic transmitter released by the preganglionic axons.

Cardioacceleration produced by close intra-arterial injection of neurotensin into the stellate ganglion of the cat

The effect on heart rate of close i.a. injection of neurotensin (NT), substance P (SP), and vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) into the decentralized right stellate ganglion was tested in anaesthetized spinal cats. These peptides are present in the stellate ganglion and may mediate the stellate ganglion cell excitation underlying a previously described slow cardioacceleration evoked by preganglionic stimulation during block of cholinergic transmission. NT (Tyr11-NT) at doses of 25–200 μg produced increases in heart rate of 10–125 beats/min (bpm) and of slow time course. At the dose of 100 μg, NT produced a cardioacceleration of 56 ± 8.4 bpm(mean ± SEM, n = 13) with an onset latency of 23 ± 4 s, a slow rise to peak (rise time 62 ± 4.5 s), and a half decay of 167 ± 14 s. A cardioacceleration of comparable magnitude (78 ± 3.8 bpm) caused by close i.a. administration of acetylcholine (100 μg, n = 13) had an onset latency of 2 ± 1 s, a fast rise to a sharp peak (rise time 3 ± 1 s), and a half decay of 23 ± 4 s. The analogues, Phe11-NT and Trp11-NT, as well as the stereoisomer, D-Tyr11-NT, had no effect on heart rate when injected at doses up to 400 μg. The NT-evoked cardioacceleration was blocked by propranolol or by section of the inferior cardiac nerve and may therefore be attributed to prolonged excitation of stellate ganglion cells. Administration of hexamethonium and atropine was without effect on the NT response. Intravenous injection of NT at the same doses used by intra-arterial injection (25–200 μg) was without appreciable effect on heart rate. At doses of up to 400 μg by close i.a. injection, VIP and SP had no effect on heart rate. Two observations suggest that NT is a likely candidate as mediator of noncholinergic excitation of stellate ganglion cells. One is the finding, reported here, of a similarly slow time course for the NT-evoked cardioacceleration and for the slow cardioacceleration evoked by preganglionic stimulation during block of cholinergic transmission. The other is the previously reported finding that NT-like immunoreactivity in the stellate ganglion is depleted by prolonged stimulation causing loss of the neurally evoked slow cardioacceleration.