Abstract

Growing evidence points to the role of brain TNF‐alpha in the cardiovascular control. The aim of the present study was to determine whether TNF‐alpha acting in the brain is involved in regulation of the cardiovascular responses to acute stressor (AS) (air puff applied on the head of a rat). The experiments were carried out on freely moving Sprague‐Dawley rats pretreated for 28 days with saline or TNF‐alpha blocker etanercept delivered from osmotic minipump through cannula implanted into the lateral cerebral ventricle (LCV). Measurements of mean arterial pressure (MAP) and heart rate (HR) were performed during 60 min of LCV infusion of saline (5μl/hr) or TNF‐alpha (200ng/5μl/hr) followed by AS. Three groups of rats were analyzed: saline pretreatment + saline infusion, saline pretreatment + TNF‐alpha infusion, etanercept pretreatment + saline infusion. Baseline MAP and HR did not differ among groups. Infusion of TNF‐alpha resulted in increase of baseline MAP without changes in HR and enhanced pressor response to AS. Etanercept pretreatment resulted in lower MAP increases to AS than the saline pretreatment group. In conclusion present results show pressor action of centrally administered TNF‐alpha and its involvement in regulation of pressor response to acute stressor.The study was supported by a grant from the Polish Ministry of Education and Science nr 0085/B/P01/2008/35

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