Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UMLS:C0020538 (hypertension)
 170,190 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The relevance of GABA-ergic system in hypertensive state has been studied. GABA content, GAD activity and GABA-A receptor binding in various brain areas in age-matched spontaneously hypertensive (SHR) and normotensive Wistar-Kyoto rats (WKY) was compared. Out of 9 brain areas studied the GABA content was significantly lower in the substantia nigra, hypothalamus, hypothalamus posterior and hippocampus of SHR rats. GAD activity was lowered in the hypothalamus and hippocampus of young SHR and adult SHR rats (4, 8, 14 weeks old). Scatchard analysis of the binding isotherms indicated a lower Bmax of the binding sites in the hypothalamus and hippocampus of 8 and 14 weeks old SHR rats. These results suggest that activity of GABA-ergic system differs substantially in SHR and WKY rats brain. Furthermore, these differences appear already in young prehypertensive SHR rats as well as in the early stages of hypertension.
 ...
PMID:Down-regulation of the GABA-ergic system in selected brain areas of spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). 256 65

The posterior hypothalamus contains a sympathoexcitatory system that can be modulated by changes in GABAergic tone. We tested the hypothesis that the GABAergic mechanism in the posterior hypothalamus is altered in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) compared with the Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) control rats. Blood pressure and heart rate were continuously measured in the conscious state; blood samples were obtained for determination of plasma catecholamine concentrations. Bilateral microinjections of the GABAA receptor antagonist bicuculline methiodide into the posterior hypothalamus increased heart rate and blood pressure in a dose-related fashion and increased plasma catecholamine concentrations in both SHR and WKY rats. The responses were not significantly different between the two strains of rats. Microinjections of the GABAA receptor agonist muscimol in this same region caused dose-related decreases in both heart rate and blood pressure in SHR and WKY rats. Although the decreases in heart rate caused by muscimol were not significantly different between the SHR and WKY rats, the decreases in blood pressure were significantly greater in SHR compared with WKY rats. Further, microinjection of muscimol caused a significant decrease in plasma catecholamines in SHR but not in WKY rats. These data indicate that in SHR and WKY rats the posterior hypothalamus contains a sympathoexcitatory mechanism that is tonically inhibited by GABA. The ability of muscimol to decrease plasma catecholamines selectively in SHR and to cause greater decreases in blood pressure, suggests that the GABAergic mechanisms in the posterior hypothalamus of the SHR and WKY rats may differ.
Hypertension 1989 Dec
PMID:Hypothalamic GABA and sympathetic regulation in spontaneously hypertensive rats. 258 98

The past 15 years have been witness to a remarkable growth in knowledge regarding the modulation of "sympathetic traffic" to neuroeffector organs, including vascular tissue. The release of norepinephrine from peripheral sympathetic neurons is now known to be under both negative and positive feedback control. Norepinephrine, when released from peripheral neurons, acts on presynaptic alpha 2-receptors to inhibit further neurotransmission. Vascular postsynaptic alpha 2-receptors, sensitive to circulating catecholamines, subserve vasoconstriction. The antihypertensive agents clonidine, guanabenz and guanfacin likely reduce blood pressure by acting centrally on alpha 2 postsynaptic neurons to limit sympathetic transmission to blood vessels. Clonidine can produce venoconstriction and thereby improve orthostatic hypotension by activating venous alpha 2-receptors. Additional presynaptic dopaminergic receptors (DA2), muscarinic receptors (acetylcholine), opioid receptors, prostaglandin receptors, adenosine receptors (A1) and histamine (H2) receptors are present on sympathetic nerve membranes and, when engaged with the appropriate ligand, can limit the exocytotic process. Gamma-aminobutyric acid and serotonin demonstrate similar roles in reducing sympathetic nerve activity. In contrast to these inhibitory presynaptic mechanisms, facilitation of norepinephrine release appears to occur by way of neuronal angiotensin II receptor activation and perhaps through stimulation of sympathetic nerve membrane beta 2-receptors. An appreciation of these inhibitory and facilitator mechanisms is useful in the treatment of a variety of clinical conditions, including hypertension, heart failure, orthostatic hypotension, septic shock and a number of common withdrawal syndromes.
 ...
PMID:Modulation of peripheral sympathetic nerve transmission. 283 2

3-Mercaptopropionic acid (3-MP), an inhibitor of the synthesis of GABA, acts in the central nervous system to increase arterial pressure (+50-60 mmHg) in anesthetized guinea pigs, apparently by sympathoadrenal activation. However, blockade of nicotinic receptors in autonomic ganglia with hexamethonium (10 or 20 mg/kg, i.v.) failed to effect any degree of sustained reversal of increases in blood pressure. Infusion of atropine methyl bromide (1 mg/kg, i.v.) likewise was without effect when administered alone, but completely reversed the hypertension induced by 3-MP when given after treatment with hexamethonium. These findings suggest that ganglionic transmission through either the "classical" nicotinic pathway or a muscarinic pathway is sufficient to sustain the sympathetically-mediated pressor response elicited by 3-MP.
 ...
PMID:Evidence for transmission through sympathetic ganglia mediated by muscarinic receptors in anesthetized guinea pigs. 301 88

A previous study from this laboratory demonstrated that ongoing GABAergic neurotransmission in the nucleus tractus solitarii (NTS) functions to maintain baseline arterial pressure (AP). In that study, bilateral microinjection of nipecotic acid into the NTS was observed to elevate AP. Since nipecotic acid is a selective GABA uptake blocker, changes in GABA release should be reflected by changes in the response to nipecotic acid. The present study utilized this approach to assess endogenous GABA activity within the NTS of the spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR). Male SHR, 16-20 weeks of age, were anesthetized with chloralose, paralyzed and ventilated. Age-matched Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats were studied as controls. Bilateral microinjection of nipecotic acid (10 nmol in 100 nl; a maximally effective dose) into the NTS elicited a pressor response which was significantly greater in the SHR than the response observed in the WKY rats. Similarly, direct stimulation of GABAB receptors in the NTS with (-)-baclofen 40 pmol, a maximally effective dose) elicited an increase in AP which was significantly greater in the SHR. In contrast, bilateral microinjection of the direct acting GABAA agonist muscimol (160 pmol, a maximally effective dose) resulted in a similar elevation of AP in both the SHR and WKY rats. These results suggest that the enhanced pressor response caused by endogenous GABA in the NTS of the SHR is due to a greater response evoked by stimulation of GABAB receptors. Thus, enhanced GABAB receptor-mediated neural transmission in the NTS may contribute to the expression or maintenance of hypertension in this genetic model of hypertension.
 ...
PMID:Enhanced pressor response to GABA in the nucleus tractus solitarii of the spontaneously hypertensive rat. 316 23

Drugs activating GABAergic systems were microinjected into the caudal ventrolateral medulla of the rat and effects on blood pressure and heart rate were investigated. In urethane-anesthetized rats, a dose-dependent increase in blood pressure and heart rate was induced by unilateral injections of GABA (30-300 ng) into the caudal ventrolateral medulla. Unilateral injections of the GABA receptor agonist muscimol (1-10 ng) and baclofen (0.1-10 ng) into the brainstem area also increased both the cardiovascular parameters. The GABA uptake inhibitors nipecotic acid (1-3 micrograms) and L-2,4-diaminobutyric acid (1 microgram), and the GABA-T inhibitor gamma-acetylenic GABA (1-3 micrograms) injected unilaterally into the brainstem area also produced hypertension and tachycardia. Bilateral microinjections of nipecotic acid (0.3 microgram) into the area potentiated the pressor and tachycardiac responses to carotid artery occlusion in pentobarbital-anesthetized rats. Lesioning of the rat nucleus tractus solitarii did not alter the GABA content in the lesioned side of the caudal ventrolateral medulla. The data provide further evidence that endogenous GABAergic mechanisms in the rat caudal ventrolateral medulla are involved in the regulation of blood pressure. It seems unlikely that the GABAergic mechanisms originate mainly from neurons in the nucleus tractus solitarii.
 ...
PMID:Cardiovascular effects of GABA system activating drugs injected into the caudal ventrolateral medulla of the rat. 324 47

Gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA) may represent the single most prevalent neurotransmitter in the mammalian central nervous system. Consequently, it should come as little surprise that the neural circuitry concerned with regulating systemic arterial pressure through the autonomic nervous system utilizes a number of GABAergic inhibitory mechanisms which are anatomically and functionally distinct. This article will, first, summarize findings from our laboratory and other which suggest some of these roles in the mammalian brainstem, and, second, trace a line of research pointing to a particular GABAergic inhibitory mechanism in the forebrain that may have some relevance to experimental and human hypertension.
 ...
PMID:Role of GABAergic mechanisms in the central regulation of arterial pressure. 330 50

The present study investigated the metabolism of serotonin (5-HT) in rats made hypertensive by treatment with DOCA/NaCl. 5-Hydroxytryptamine and its major metabolite, 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) were significantly elevated in a number of regions of the brain in rats treated for 2 weeks with DOCA/NaCl. Elevations in levels of 5-HIAA were present with 4 weeks of treatment with DOCA/NaCl but levels of 5-HT were not altered. No changes in the metabolism of 5-HT were detectable with 5 weeks of treatment with DOCA/NaCl. Levels of tryptophan were also elevated in a number of regions of the brain by treatment with DOCA/NaCl. Alterations in norepinephrine (NE) in the brainstem were present with 2, 4 or 5 weeks of treatment with DOCA/NaCl. The neurochemical effects of muscimol, a GABA agonist, were also investigated in rats treated with DOCA/NaCl for 4 weeks. Significant increases in levels of 5-HIAA and 5-HT were present in rats treated with DOCA/NaCl but not in controls, 15 min after intraventricular administration of muscimol (1.0 microgram/300 g body weight). Sixty min after muscimol, 5-HIAA was increased in both rats treated with DOCA/NaCl and control rats, but 5-HT was only increased in the hypothalamus. Treatment with DOCA/NaCl produced changes in the metabolism of 5-HT that may be important in the genesis of hypertension, but are not required for the maintenance of elevated arterial pressure. A disturbance of GABA-5-HT interactions between GABA and 5-HT in brainstem sites may also contribute to the pathogenesis of hypertension induced by DOCA/NaCl.
 ...
PMID:Central serotonergic alterations in deoxycorticosterone acetate/NaCl (DOCA/NaCl)-induced hypertension. 341 40

When GABA (4-amino-n-butyric acid, 50-200 micrograms) was injected into the lateral ventricle of urethane-anaesthetized Wistar rats, sympathetic nerve activity, arterial pressure and heart rate were decreased dose-dependently. Graded electrical stimulation of the ventromedial hypothalamus (50, 100 and 150 microA) increased not only mean blood pressure but also the rate of sympathetic nerve firing, and both responses were attenuated by GABA pretreatment (100 and 200 micrograms, i.c.v.). In spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR), i.c.v.-injected GABA also reduced sympatho-cardiovascular activity, but the magnitude of the depressor responses was significantly larger in SHR than in normotensive Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) control rats. Pressor and sympathetic nerve responses elicited by hypothalamic stimulation were initially larger in SHR than in WKY rats. However, upon subsequent i.c.v. injection of GABA, hypothalamic responsiveness in SHR was inhibited more prominently and became almost the same as that in WKY rats. These results suggest that, by depressing hypothalamic function, central GABA-ergic stimulation decreases sympathetic nerve activity thereby lowering blood pressure and heart rate. Because of the increased central sensitivity in SHR, GABA-ergic stimulation reversed hypothalamo-sympathetic hyperactivity and attenuated hypertension.
 ...
PMID:Central GABA-ergic stimulation attenuates hypertension and hypothalamic hyperactivity in spontaneously hypertensive rats. 346 96

Autonomic dysfunction, including arrhythmias, has been shown to be associated with epileptogenic activity. This study examines the potential role for enkephalins in this process. A long lasting elevation of immunoreactive methionine (met)-enkephalin content in the septum, hypothalamus, amygdala, and hippocampus of rats occurs after pentylenetetrazol-induced convulsions (Brain Research 297: 121-125, 1984). Brennan et al (Life Sciences 27: 1097-1101, 1980) reported a greater percent inhibition of potassium-stimulated GABA release with increasing concentrations of met-enkephalin. Snead and Bearden (Science 210: 1031-1033, 1980) found that leucine-enkephalin in the central nervous system may induce epileptogenic activity. In addition, (d-alanine2) met-enkephalin has been shown to produce a centrally mediated vasopressor response as well as attenuation of the baroreceptor reflex in conscious cats (Hypertension 3: 395-407, 1981), possibly leading to autonomic imbalance. The latter may precipitate arrhythmias and sudden unexplained death in the epileptic patient. Resolution of the question of whether enkephalins elicit epileptogenic activity and autonomic dysfunction via inhibition of GABA release is important since an understanding of this mechanism should eventually allow the design of pharmacologic agents to prevent the epileptogenic activity, autonomic dysfunction and the associated sudden death.
 ...
PMID:The role of enkephalins in the production of epileptogenic activity and autonomic dysfunction: origin of arrhythmia and sudden death in the epileptic patient? 361 1


<< Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next >>