Effects of Electrical Spinal Cord Stimulation on the Activity of the Hypothalamic‐Pituitary‐Adrenocortical System and the Sensitivity of the Gastric Mucosa to Ulcerogenic Stimuli

Abstract

Our previous results of two areas of unrelated researches are the basis of the present study. We demonstrated previously that the hypothalamic‐pituitary‐adrenocortical (HPA) axis is gastroprotective component of the brain‐gut axis and stress‐induced glucocorticoids are gastroprotective hormones but not ulcerogenic ones (Filaretova et al., 2016). At the same time recently electrical spinal cord stimulation began to be used for both experimental studies of motor functions regulation and rehabilitation of motor functions in patients with spinal cord injury (Gerasimenko et al., 2021; Moshonkina et al., 2016). The spinal cord stimulation directed to the activation of spinal locomotor related networks affected visceral systems as well. The aim of the present experimental work was to verify whether electrical spinal cord stimulation may activate the HPA axis and affect a sensitivity of the gastric mucosa to ulcerogenic stimuli in rats. Two ulcerogenic stimuli were used in anesthetized rats: 1) prolonged gastric ischemia/reperfusion (I/R, 30 min occlusion of celiac artery followed by 3 h of reperfusion); 2) indomethacin administration (IM, 35 mg/kg, sc). For spinal stimulation, stainless steel wire electrodes (AS632; Cooner Wire, California, USA) were fixed in fasciae between T11‐12 and L1–L2 vertebrae of anesthetized animals. Electrodes for recording motor responses to stimulation placed to the muscles of the hind limbs. A‐M System, Model 2100 stimulator was used for spinal cord stimulation. At the beginning motor thresholds determined by stimulation with monopolar rectangular pulses (1 ms). Then the spinal cord was stimulated with a frequency 30 Hz and a subthreshold current (350–700 μA) in order to exclude the influence of movements for 20 min. Sham‐stimulated (control) rats were subjected to the same manipulations except for the stimulation itself. The concentration of corticosterone in blood plasma was determined using commercial ELISA kits. The spinal cord stimulation resulted in an increase of blood glucocorticoid level 1 h later suggesting an activation of the HPA axis. The spinal stimulation, applied 1 h before the onset of ulcerogenic stimuli, also significantly attenuated gastric erosion formation induced by I/R and IM as well. The data suggest that the electrical spinal cord stimulation may activate the HPA axis and affect a sensitivity of the gastric mucosa to ulcerogenic stimuli in rats producing gastroprotective effect. We consider the results as a basis for further research to verify a possibility of an involvement of glucocorticoids in the mechanisms that may provide the beneficial effects of spinal neuromodulation.