Functional alterations of mesenteric vascular bed, vas deferens and intestinal tracts in a rat hindlimb unloading model of microgravity

Abstract

1. Prolonged bed rest or exposure to microgravity may cause several alterations in autonomic nervous system response (ANSR). 2. Hindlimb unloading (HU) rats were used as an animal model of simulated microgravity to investigate ANSR changes. The experiments were carried out to investigate the effects of simulated microgravity on the autonomic nervous response of the perfused mesenteric vascular bed (MVB), vas deferens and the colon and duodenum from 2-week HU rats. 3. In MVB preparations of HU rats, the frequency-dependent increases in perfusion pressure with perivascular nerve stimulation (PNS; 8-40 Hz) were inhibited, whereas the noradrenaline (NA) concentration-dependent (1-100 microM) perfusion pressure increases were potentiated. The latter most probably reflected up-regulation of alpha-adrenergic receptor function. Relaxant responses of NA-precontracted MVB to PNS (4-30 Hz) or isoprenaline were not different between control and HU preparations, while vasodilation induced by the endothelial agonist ACh was reduced. 4. Transmural stimulation (2-40 Hz) induced frequency-dependent twitches of the vas deferens which were reduced in vas deferens of HU rats, while the sensitivity to NA-induced contraction was significantly increased. 5. In the gastroenteric system of HU rat, direct contractile responses to carbachol or tachykinin as well as relaxant or contractile responses to nervous stimulation appeared unchanged both in the proximal colon rings and in duodenal longitudinal strips. 6. In conclusion, HU treatment affects peripheral tissues in which the main contractile mediators are the adrenergic ones such as resistance vessels and vas deferens, probably by reducing the release of neuromediator. This study validates NA signalling impairment as a widespread process in microgravity, which may most dramatically result in the clinical phenotype of orthostatic intolerance.

Fluid shift vs. body size: changes of hematological parameters and body fluid volumes in hindlimb-unloaded mice, rats and rabbits

“…The model of hindlimb unloading, originally developed by Ilin and Novikov (1980) and popularized by Morey-Holton (Morey-Holton and Globus, 2002), has been repeatedly applied to on-ground studies of cardiovascular adaptation to microgravity. The hindlimb-unloaded rats and mice display vascular remodeling (Behnke et al, 2008;De Salvatore et al, 2004;Summers et al, 2008), hematological changes (Dunn et al, 1985;Ryou, 2012) and alterations of blood pressure and/or heart rate (Powers and Bernstein, 2004;Tarasova et al, 2001;Tsvirkun et al, 2012;Zhang et al, 2008), along with other signs of cardiovascular adaptation (Bouzeghrane et al, 1996;Brizzee and Walker, 1990;Chew and Segal, 1997;Fagette et al, 1995;Moffitt et al, 1998). In relation to fluid shifts, the increase of hydrostatic pressure in the neck tissues (Hargens et al, 1984) and intracranial pressure was reported in hindlimb-unloaded rats (Krasnov et al, 2005;Maurel et al, 1996), although measurement of blood and interstitial fluid volumes produced ambiguous data (Bouzeghrane et al, 1996;Chew and Segal, 1997;Deever et al, 2002).…”