Modulation of cardiovascular effects produced by nitric oxide and ionotropic glutamate receptor interaction in the nucleus tractus solitarii of rats

Abstract

Both nitric oxide (NO) and glutamate in the brain stem nuclei are involved in central cardiovascular regulation. In the present study, we investigated possible functional interactions between NO and glutamate in the modulation of cardiovascular function in the nucleus tractus solitarii (NTS) of anesthetized rats. In Sprague–Dawley rats, intra-NTS unilateral microinjections of l-glutamate (0.1 nmol/60 nl) and its ionotropic agonists NMDA (5 pmol) and AMPA (2 pmol) resulted in significant decreases in mean blood pressure (MBP) and heart rate (HR). The cardiovascular effects of l-glutamate, NMDA and AMPA were significantly blocked by prior administration of the neuronal NO synthase (nNOS) inhibitor, 7-nitroindazole (7-NI, 0.5 nmol), or by the soluble guanylyl cyclase (sGC) inhibitor, 1H-[1.2.4]oxadiazolo[4,3,-a]quinoxalin-1-one (ODQ, 0.03-1 pmol). Conversely, a depressor and bradycardic effect was elicited by microinjection of either the NO precursor l-arginine (10 nmol) or the NO donor sodium nitroprusside (SNP, 0.2 nmol) into the NTS. Prior administration of the NMDA receptor antagonists MK-801 (0.1–1 nmol) and APV (0.1–4 nmol) significantly attenuated these effects of l-arginine. Similarly, cardiovascular responses to l-arginine in the NTS were inhibited by pre-injections with the non-NMDA receptor antagonists CNQX (10–330 pmol) and NBQX (2–10 pmol). Furthermore, APV (4 nmol) and CNQX (330 pmol) attenuated the depressor and bradycardic effects of SNP, respectively. This study demonstrates that baroreflex-like responses to microinjections of l-glutamate and its ionotropic agonists into the NTS involve synthesis of NO and activation of sGC. Reciprocally, central cardiovascular effects of NO also depend on responsive ionotropic glutamate receptors.