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Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, University of California, Davis, California
Submitted 4 October 2005 ; accepted in final form 24 October 2005
| ABSTRACT |
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purinergic receptors; exercise; neural control of circulation; cats; skeletal muscle; pyridoxal phosphate-6-azophenyl-2',4'-disulfonic acid
Group III afferents are thinly myelinated and are responsive, for the most part, to nonnoxious mechanical stimuli, such as gentle probing of their receptive fields and tendon stretch (9, 20). Nevertheless, metabolic stimuli are capable of increasing the sensitivity of group III afferents to mechanical stimuli (19, 31, 34). Group III afferents are considered to be responsible for evoking the mechanical component of the exercise pressor reflex (35). Group IV afferents are unmyelinated and, for the most part, are much less sensitive to nonnoxious mechanical stimuli, such as probing and stretch, than are group III afferents (9, 20). Instead, group IV afferents are responsive to chemical stimuli (29, 31); these unmyelinated afferents are considered to be responsible for evoking the metabolic component of the exercise pressor reflex (10, 20).
The specific metabolite(s) that sensitizes group III afferents to mechanical stimuli and stimulates group IV afferents is not known, but the possibility is high that there are more than one (32, 36, 37). Several recent findings about ATP have raised the possibility that this purine plays an important role in evoking the metabolic component of the exercise pressor reflex. For example, ATP concentrations in the interstitium of muscle are known to increase during contraction (14, 23). Moreover, injections of ATP or
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-methylene ATP, a P2X receptor agonist, into the arterial supply of hindlimb muscle reflexly increased mean arterial pressure and heart rate (3, 15). Finally, injection of
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-methylene ATP into the popliteal artery stimulated slowly conducting group III afferents as well as group IV afferents (5).
We hypothesized that P2 receptors located on the sensory endings of groups III and IV afferents contribute to the metabolic component of the exercise pressor reflex. We also hypothesized that P2 receptors contribute to the mechanical component of this reflex. We tested these hypotheses by recording the responses of groups III and IV afferents to static contraction of the triceps surae muscles and to tendon stretch before and after P2 receptor blockade with pyridoxal phosphate-6-azophenyl-2',4'-disulfonic acid (PPADS).
| METHODS |
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The cat was placed in a Kopf stereotaxic and spinal unit and given dexamethasone (4 mg iv). A midcollicular decerebration was performed, and all neural tissue rostral to the section was removed. Hemostasis was achieved and the cranial vault filled with agar (37°C). A laminectomy was performed to expose the L6-S1 dorsal roots. The left triceps surae muscles were isolated, and the calcaneal bone was severed. The left leg was fixed in place with a clamp and knee brace so that the angle between the upper and lower leg was
115°. The free end of the left calcaneal tendon was attached to a force transducer (model FT-10C, Grass Instrument) to measure the tension developed by the left triceps surae muscles. All visible branches of the left sciatic nerve except for those innervating the triceps surae muscles were cut. The left femoral nerve was also cut.
Recording impulse activity from groups III and IV afferents. Afferent impulses were recorded from thin filaments dissected from either L7 or S1 dorsal roots. We located the receptive fields of groups III and IV afferents by probing the left triceps surae muscles with both noxious and nonnoxious stimuli. Noxious probing consisted of vigorously pinching the muscles with the fingers; likewise, nonnoxious probing consisted of either gently stroking the triceps surae with a blunt rod or gently squeezing the muscles with the fingers. The afferent signals were passed through a high-impedance probe (HIP 511, Grass Instrument), amplified, and filtered (1003,000 Hz; P511, Grass Instrument). Action potentials were displayed on a computer monitor (Spike 2; Cambridge Electronics Design, Cambridge, UK) and on a storage oscilloscope (HP 54603B).
The conduction velocity of an afferent was calculated by dividing the conduction distance between the recording electrode on the dorsal root and the stimulating electrode on the tibial nerve by the conduction time, which was measured on the storage oscilloscope. Group III fibers had conduction velocities between 2.5 and 30 m/s. Group IV fibers had conduction velocities of <2.5 m/s (8). Afferents having a conduction velocity of >30 m/s were discarded.
Protocols. The left triceps surae muscles were contracted statically for 60 s by electrically stimulating the tibial nerve (15 Hz; 25 µs; 1.52 times motor threshold). This method of contracting the triceps surae muscles does not electrically stimulate the axons of groups III and IV afferents (8). The triceps surae muscles were stretched for 60 s by turning a rack and pinion attached to the calcaneal tendon. We attempted to match the tension developed during tendon stretch to that developed during static contraction. The order of the two manipulations (i.e., static contraction and tendon stretch) was randomly varied.
P2 receptor blockade with PPADS.
Static contraction and/or tendon stretch was repeated after injecting PPADS into the left popliteal artery, provided that a particular group III or IV afferent responded to at least one of the two maneuvers. Consequently, not all of the afferents were tested with each maneuver after P2 receptor blockade. PPADS was placed into solution with saline and was injected in a volume of 1 ml. Before injecting PPADS, we tightened snares placed around the left external iliac artery and left common iliac vein. We injected PPADS (10 mg/kg) into the left popliteal artery, trapping it within the circulation of the lower leg. The PPADS solution had an orange color and consequently could be seen entering the vascular bed of the triceps surae muscles. If this was not seen by the experimenters, the data were discarded. We released the snares after 15 min and allowed the leg to be freely perfused for 15 min before initiating either contraction or tendon stretch. We (3, 5) have shown previously that popliteal arterial injections of this dose of PPADS blocked both the reflex pressor responses and the thin fiber muscle afferent responses to popliteal arterial injection of
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-methylene ATP. In addition, we (30) have shown previously that arterial injections of 1 ml of saline, the vehicle for PPADS, had no effect on the discharge properties of groups III and IV muscle afferents. Consequently, vehicle control experiments were not needed.
Data analysis. Baseline impulse activity was counted for 60 s before a maneuver (i.e., static contraction or tendon stretch), during the maneuver, and for 60 s after the maneuver ended. Activity is expressed as impulses (imp) per second. The tension time index (25) was calculated by integrating the area between the tension trace and the baseline level (Spike 2). Peak developed tension was calculated by subtracting the resting tension from the maximum tension. All values are expressed as means ± SE. Two-by-two repeated-measures ANOVA followed by Tukey post hoc tests was used to determine statistical significance. The criterion for statistical significance was set at P < 0.05.
| RESULTS |
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Static Contraction
Group III afferents. Static contraction of the triceps surae muscles increased the discharge rate of 16 (conduction velocity = 10.6 ± 1.7 m/s) of the 29 group III afferents tested. Static contraction before PPADS injection increased activity from 0.1 ± 0.05 to 1.6 ± 0.5 imp/s (P < 0.05; n = 16), whereas static contraction after PPADS injection increased activity from 0.2 ± 0.1 to 1.0 ± 0.5 imp/s (Figs. 13; P < 0.05; n = 16). For the 16 group III afferents responsive to static contraction, PPADS significantly attenuated their responses by 47% (Fig. 2A; P < 0.05). PPADS did not change the baseline activity of the 16 group III afferents (Figs. 2A and 3). The tension time indexes (Table 1) and peak tensions (Table 2) developed by contraction before and after PPADS injection were not significantly different from each other (P > 0.05; n = 16).
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Group III afferents. Stretching the calcaneal tendon for 60 s increased the activity of 13 (conduction velocity = 12.9 ± 1.7 m/s) of the 25 group III afferents tested. Tendon stretch before PPADS increased activity of the 13 group III afferents from 0.2 ± 0.1 to 1.2 ± 0.2 imp/s (P < 0.001), whereas stretch after PPADS injection increased the activity of these afferents from 0.1 ± 0.1 to 0.6 ± 0.1 imp/s (P < 0.05; Figs. 2C and 3). For the 13 group III afferents responsive to tendon stretch, PPADS significantly attenuated their responses to this maneuver by 50% (Figs. 2C and 3; P < 0.01). Moreover, PPADS did not change baseline activity of the 13 group III afferents (Figs. 2C and 3). The tension time indexes and peak tensions developed by stretch before and after PPADS injection were not significantly different from each other (Tables 1 and 2; P > 0.05; n = 13).
Group IV afferents. Stretching the calcaneal tendon for 60 s increased the activity of 7 (conduction velocity = 1.6 ± 0.2 m/s) of the 14 group IV afferents tested. Tendon stretch before PPADS increased activity of the seven group IV afferents from 0.6 ± 0.1 to 1.1 ± 0.3 imp/s (P < 0.05); stretch after PPADS injection increased the activity of these afferents from 0.6 ± 0.2 to 1.0 ± 0.3 imp/s (Figs. 2 and 3; P > 0.05). Tendon stretch significantly increased the discharge rate of the group IV afferents over their baseline levels before PPADS injection (P < 0.05) but had no significant effect on this discharge rate after PPADS (P > 0.05; Fig. 2D). Nevertheless, the attenuation by PPADS was very small (Fig. 2D) and was found not to be significant (P > 0.05) when tested as an interaction in a two-way repeated-measures ANOVA. PPADS injection did not change the baseline discharge rates of the seven group IV afferents responding to tendon stretch (Fig. 2D; P > 0.05). The tension time indexes and peak tensions developed by tendon stretch before PPADS injection were not significantly different from each other (Tables 1 and 2; P > 0.05; n = 7).
| DISCUSSION |
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-methylene ATP have been shown to stimulate group III afferents with conduction velocities of <4 m/s as well as group IV afferents (5, 27). In contrast to P2 receptors, P1 receptors on thin fiber muscle afferents do not appear to play a role in generating the exercise pressor reflex. For example, blockade of P1 receptors in cats had no effect on the exercise pressor reflex (4); likewise, blockade of P1 receptors had no effect on the reflex pressor response to tendon stretch in either cats (4) or rats (15). Furthermore, injecting or infusing adenosine into the arterial supply of either animals (3, 17, 38) or humans (16) did not evoke a muscle metaboreflex. In addition, preventing the reuptake of adenosine with brachial arterial injections of dipyridamole in humans increased interstitial concentrations of adenosine but did not increase the exercise pressor reflex (28). Finally, blockade of P1 receptors with aminophylline in humans had no effect on the increase in muscle sympathetic nerve activity evoked by mild rhythmic forearm exercise (21).
An important limitation of our study is that we selected thin fiber muscle afferents on the basis of the fact that they displayed at least some mechanical sensitivity to probing their receptive fields in the triceps surae muscles. Thus we may have excluded afferents that innervated the triceps surae muscles but had no mechanical sensitivity. The presence of mechanically insensitive afferents can be revealed by electrical stimulation of their axons as they exit the muscles. However, the strong currents required to activate group IV afferents when measuring conduction times from stimulating to recording electrodes leave open the possibility that one is activating the axons of afferents that innervate nearby structures, such as joints, bone, and other muscles (10). This possibility caused us to test only groups III and IV afferents that we were sure had their receptive fields in the triceps surae muscles.
PPADS blocks P2 receptors but does not block P1 receptors (12). Moreover, PPADS has only a weak inhibitory effect on ecto-nucleotidases, the enzyme that converts ATP to adenosine in the interstitial space (11). High ecto-nucleotidase blocking activity can be characteristic for purinergic antagonists and when present would serve to increase levels of ATP in the interstitial space. Despite these strengths, PPADS is a nonselective and nonuniversal antagonist of P2 receptors (11). In vitro, PPADS has been shown to block homomeric P2X1, P2X2, P2X3, P2X5, and P2Y1 receptors as well as heteromeric P2X2/3 and P2X1/5 receptors. PPADS, however, does not block homomeric P2X4, P2X6, P2X7, P2Y2, P2Y4, P2Y6, and P2Y11 receptors (26). These in vitro findings combined with our previous finding that popliteal arterial injection of the P2X3 receptor agonist
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-methylene ATP evoked a pressor reflex (3) as well as stimulated mostly group IV afferents (5) led us to speculate that PPADS attenuated the responses of these unmyelinated muscle afferents to static contraction by blocking homomeric P2X3 or heteromeric PX2/3 receptors.
We also found that PPADS attenuated the responses of group III afferents to tendon stretch but had no effect on the responses of the group IV afferents. Tendon stretch is a useful technique to mechanically stimulate group III afferents in skeletal muscle and is used in an attempt to avoid the confounding effects of metabolic stimulation that occur when muscle is contracted. Recently, however, we found that tendon stretch and static contraction often stimulated different group III afferents (7). In other words, the finding that tendon stretch stimulated a group III afferent did not offer any certainty that static contraction would stimulate this afferent. The specific P2X receptor on the group III afferents responding to stretch that was blocked by PPADS in our experiments is unknown. However, Cook et al. (1) have suggested that the P2X5 receptor plays a role in activating muscle stretch receptors. We note with interest that PPADS is an effective antagonist to this receptor, and we wonder whether the P2X5 receptor also was responsible for the ATP-induced sensitization of the pressor response to tendon stretch reported by Li and Sinoway (15).
In conclusion, we found that P2 receptor blockade with PPADS significantly attenuated the responses of group III afferents to static contraction as well as to tendon stretch. We also found that PPADS significantly attenuated the responses of group IV afferents to static contraction but did not attenuate the responses of these unmyelinated afferents to tendon stretch. These findings are consistent with our working hypothesis that many group III afferents are mechanoreceptors that can be sensitized by the presence of ATP in the muscle interstitial space, whereas many group IV muscle afferents are metaboreceptors that are stimulated by the presence of ATP in the muscle interstitial space.
| GRANTS |
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| ACKNOWLEDGMENTS |
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| FOOTNOTES |
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The costs of publication of this article were defrayed in part by the payment of page charges. The article must therefore be hereby marked "advertisement" in accordance with 18 U.S.C. Section 1734 solely to indicate this fact.
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-Methylene ATP elicits a reflex pressor response arising from muscle in decerebrate cats. J Appl Physiol 93: 834841, 2002.This article has been cited by other articles:
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