AJP - Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology, Vol 251, Issue 2 274-R281, Copyright © 1986 by American Physiological Society
Changes in forebrain hexokinase activity after aortic baroreceptor denervation
W. E. Turton, J. Ciriello and F. R. Calaresu
Although forebrain structures have been implicated in both the development
and maintenance of the elevated arterial pressure (AP) after aortic
baroreceptor denervation, little is known about the location of central
structures involved in the hypertensive process. In the present study,
regions of the forebrain whose metabolic activity was altered after aortic
baroreceptor denervation were functionally identified using hexokinase (HK)
histochemistry in the rat. Three days after bilateral aortic depressor
nerve (ADN) transection AP was significantly elevated compared with sham
ADN-transected animals (143 +/- 1 and 122 +/- 2 mmHg, respectively).
Significant increases in HK activity were observed in the magno- and
parvocellular components of the paraventricular nucleus of the
hypothalamus, supraoptic nucleus, nucleus circularis, median preoptic
nucleus, subfornical organ, and central nucleus of the amygdala in the
ADN-transected animals. These data have demonstrated that removal of aortic
baroreceptor afferent inputs alters the activity of forebrain structures
previously implicated in regulation of body fluid balance and AP and
suggest that these structures are involved in the hypertensive process
after ADN transection.
