Task2 K + channel expression in the central nervous system is surprisingly restricted to a few brainstem nuclei, including the retrotrapezoid (RTN) region. All Task2-positive RTN neurons were lost in mice bearing a Phox2b mutation that causes the human congenital central hypoventilation syndrome. In plethysmography, Task2 −/− mice showed disturbed chemosensory function with hypersensitivity to low CO 2 concentrations, leading to hyperventilation. Task2 probably is needed to stabilize the membrane potential of chemoreceptive cells. In addition, Task2 −/− mice lost the long-term hypoxia-induced respiratory decrease whereas the acute carotid-body-mediated increase was maintained. The lack of anoxia-induced respiratory depression in the isolated brainstemspinal cord preparation suggested a central origin of the phenotype. Task2 activation by reactive oxygen species generated during hypoxia could silence RTN neurons, thus contributing to respiratory depression. These data identify Task2 as a determinant of central O 2 chemoreception and demonstrate that this phenomenon is due to the activity of a small number of neurons located at the ventral medullary surface.breathing | central chemoreceptors | K2P | KCNK5 | ventral medullary surface S pontaneous breathing requires feedback controls in which detection of blood gases and pH is critical. At present, there is good understanding of the brainstem topology of respiratory centers, and functional measurements in vitro and in vivo have revealed the basic principles of the neuronal network required for respiratory rhythmogenesis and pattern generation. This network comprises several groups of respiratory neurons forming columns extending from the caudal ventrolateral medulla to the dorsolateral pons (1, 2). The activity of this network must be stable yet permanently adjusted to variations of O 2 , CO 2 , and pH during diverse physiological conditions, e.g., sleep, exercise, or high altitude (3). The precise physiological processes by which pH, CO 2 , and O 2 changes are sensed and translated into the appropriate respiratory neural output are important mechanisms that are still a matter of debate (4, 5). Changes in arterial CO 2 / pH are detected by peripheral chemoreceptors, mainly carotid bodies, and multiple chemoreceptive areas within the brainstem. Among the central chemoreceptive areas, two have attracted most attention: the raphe nuclei and the retrotrapezoid nucleus (RTN) (6, 7). The carotid bodies are the major sensors for acute O 2 changes. However, for longer periods of hypoxia, respiratory adaptation is substantially mediated by central mechanisms (8). The ventrolateral medullary surface comprising the RTN and the parafacial respiratory group (pFRG) has been proposed to contain intrinsically CO 2 -and O 2 -sensing neurons (9-12). Recently, a mouse model that carries a mutation of the transcription factor Phox2b, which causes congenital central hypoventilation syndrome in humans, was engineered. A specific loss of a population of Phox2b-expressing RTN/pFRG neurons ...
To determine whether prenatal hypoxia increases the risk of developing cardiovascular disorders as an adult and, if so, the identity of the cell mechanisms involved in such dysfunction, we evaluated the sympathoadrenal system and central areas related to cardiovascular events during development and the cardiovascular parameters in adults. Pregnant rats were exposed to hypoxia (10% oxygen) from embryonic day (E) 5 to E20 and the offspring studied at 1, 3, 9 and 12 weeks of age for neurochemistry and at 12 weeks of age for cardiovascular analysis. In the 1-, 3- and 9-week-old offspring, the levels and utilization of catecholamines were reduced in sympathetic ganglia, in target organs, in adrenals and in the rostral part of the A2 cell group in the nucleus tractus solitarius, but were increased in the locus coeruleus. In the 12-week-old adult offspring, the lowered autonomic nervous activity was restricted to cardiac-related structures, i.e. the stellate ganglion, heart and adrenals. In adult rats, prenatal hypoxia did not affect the cardiac parameters under resting conditions but increased blood pressure and the variability of blood pressure and heart rate under stress conditions. The altered metabolic activity of the sympathoadrenal system and related central areas during development and at adulthood for most structures might be part of the potential mechanisms contributing to cardiovascular disorders in adults.
To define the effects of prenatal hypoxia on the postnatal development of the chemoafferent pathway, ventilation and metabolism, pregnant rats were exposed to normobaric hypoxia (10 % oxygen) from embryonic day 5 to embryonic day 20. Offspring were studied at 1, 3 and 9 weeks of age in three separate protocols. Prenatal hypoxia decreased the dopamine content in the carotid bodies at all ages, and decreased the utilisation rate of noradrenaline in the caudal part of the A2 (A2c), A1 and A5 noradrenergic brainstem cell groups at 3 weeks after birth. At 9 weeks of age, the level of dopamine in the carotid bodies was still reduced but the utilisation rate of noradrenaline was enhanced in A1. Rats from dams subjected to hypoxia during pregnancy hyperventilated until 3 weeks after birth. In these rats, the biphasic hypoxic ventilatory response was absent at 1 week and the increase in minute ventilation was amplified at 3 weeks. Prenatal hypoxia disturbed the metabolism of offspring until 3 weeks after birth. A weak or absent hypometabolism in response to hypoxia was observed in these rats in contrast to control animals. Prenatal hypoxia impairs the postnatal development of the chemoafferent pathway, as well as the ventilatory and metabolic responses to hypoxia. These alterations were mostly evident until 3 weeks after birth.
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