Abstract
Rats reared in hyperoxia exhibit a sustained (vs. biphasic) hypoxic ventilatory response (HVR) at an earlier age than untreated, control rats (Bavis et al., J Appl Physiol 109:796‐803, 2010). It has been suggested that adenosine receptors contribute to hypoxic ventilatory depression in neonatal rats, so we investigated the effect of caffeine (a nonselective adenosine receptor antagonist) on the HVR of rats reared in room air (Control) or 60% O2 (Hyperoxia) through 4‐5 days of age (P4‐5). Rats were injected with saline or caffeine (20 mg kg‐1 caffeine citrate, i.p.) approximately 30 min prior to measuring normoxic and hypoxic (12% O2) ventilation via head‐body plethysmography. As expected, Control rats exhibited a biphasic HVR and Hyperoxia rats exhibited a sustained HVR after saline injection. However, caffeine treatment had no effect on the HVR of either group. These data do not support a role for adenosine receptors in the late phase of the biphasic HVR of neonatal rats.
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