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1 Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Biomedical Sciences Institute, University of Sao Paulo, 05508-900, Sao Paulo, Brazil; 2 Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Wright State University School of Medicine, Dayton, Ohio 45401; and 3 Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15261
Oxytocin (OT) has been implicated in
the cardiovascular responses to exercise, stress, and baroreflex
adjustments. Studies were conducted to determine the effect of genetic
manipulation of the OT gene on blood pressure (BP), heart rate (HR),
and autonomic/baroreflex function. OT knockout (OTKO
/
) and control
+/+ mice were prepared with chronic arterial catheters. OTKO
/
mice
exhibited a mild hypotension (102 ± 3 vs. 110 ± 3 mmHg).
Sympathetic and vagal tone were tested using
1-adrenergic and cholinergic blockade (atenolol and
atropine). Magnitude of sympathetic and vagal tone to the heart and
periphery was not significantly different between groups. However,
there was an upward shift of sympathetic tone to higher HR values in
OTKO
/
mice. This displacement combined with unchanged basal HR led
to larger responses to cholinergic blockade (+77 ± 25 vs. +5 ± 15 beats/min, OTKO
/
vs. control +/+ group). There was also an
increase in baroreflex gain (
13.1 ± 2.5 vs.
4.1 ± 1.2 beats · min
1 · mmHg
1,
OTKO
/
vs. control +/+ group) over a smaller BP range. Results show
that OTKO
/
mice are characterized by 1) hypotension,
suggesting that OT is involved in tonic BP maintenance; 2)
enhanced baroreflex gain over a small BP range, suggesting that OT
extends the functional range of arterial baroreceptor reflex; and
3) shift in autonomic balance, indicating that OT reduces
the sympathetic reserve.
heart rate; blood pressure; autonomic nervous system; peptides; genetic models; brain
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