Summary
Experiments were performed on anaesthetized, open-chest dogs to determine the reflex effects on systemic blood pressure and heart rate produced by stimulation of the parietal pericardium with bradykinin and nicotine, and to compare these effects with those evoked by application of these substances to the visceral pericardium (epicardium) of the left ventricle. Bradykinin (0.01–6.0 μg) elicited reflex increases in blood pressure and heart rate when applied either to the parietal pericardium or to the ventricular epicardium; the responses evoked from both sites were dose-dependent from the threshold of 0.01 μg to a maximum at 1.0 μg of bradykinin. The reflex effects of bradykinin were not affected by either vagotomy or phrenic nerve section, but were suppressed by bilateral sectioning of the upper thoracic (T1-T4) white rami communicantes and stellectomy. In contrast to bradykinin, nicotine (20–100 μg) failed to produce any change in blood pressure and heart rate when applied to the parietal pericardium and evoked depressor responses when applied to the epicardium of the left ventricle; these depressor effects of nicotine were abolished by vagotomy. The results indicate that sympathetic, but not vagal, afferent endings innervating the parietal pericardium are susceptible to chemical stimulation. Bradykinin is a powerful algesic agent and is formed and released locally during inflammation. We suggest, therefore, that the pericardial sympathetic pressor reflex is nociceptive in nature and can be activated when kinin formation occurs during pericardial inflammation.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Baker, D. G., H. M. Coleridge, J. C. G. Coleridge, T. Nerdum: Search for a cardiac nociceptor: stimulation by bradykinin of sympathetic afferent nerve endings in the heart of the cat. J. Physiol.306, 519–536 (1980).
Coleridge, H. M., J. C. G. Coleridge, C. Kidd: Afferent innervation of the heart and great vessels: a comparison of the vagal and sympathetic components. Acta Physiol. Pol.29, Suppl. 17, 55–79 (1978).
Garcia Leme, J., M. Rocha e Silva: Competitive and non-competitive inhibition of bradykinin in the guinea-pig ileum. Brit. J. Pharmacol.25, 50–58 (1965).
Holt, J. P.: The normal pericardium. Amer. J. Cardiol.26, 455–465 (1970).
Kulaev, B. S.: Reflex changes in the activity of the cardiovascular system in the intensity of chemical stimulation of pericardial receptors. Bull. exp. Biol. Med.45, 662–666 (1958).
Malyarenko, Y. E.: Quantitative characteristics of reflex pressor reflexes to application of lactic acid to the epicardial and pericardial reflexogenic zones. Bull. exp. Biol. Med.71, 349–352 (1971).
Mei, N.: Etude des récepteurs vagaux du péricarde. C. R. Soc. Biol.158, 2413–2418 (1964).
Mitchell, G. A. G.: Cardiovascular Innervation, p. 356, Livingstone: Edinburgh and London (1956).
Nishi, K., M. Sakanashi, F. Takenaka: Activation of afferent cardiac sympathetic fibres of the cat by pain producing substances and by noxious heat. Pflügers Arch.372, 53–61 (1977).
Nolan, P. N., G. J. Dusting, J. Staszewska-Barczak: Chemoreflexes evoked from the ventricular epicardium and the parietal pericardium in the dog. Clin. Exp. Pharmacol. Physiol.9, 409–410 (1982) (Abstract).
Peters, S. R., D. R. Kostreva, J. A. Armour, E. G. Zuperku, F. P. Igler, R. L. Coon, J. P. Kampine: Cardiac, aortic, pericardial and pulmonary vascular receptors in the dog. Cardiology65, 85–100 (1980).
Reinmann, K. E., L. C. Weaver: Contrasting reflexes evoked by chemical activation of cardiac afferent nerves. Amer. J. Physiol.239, H316-H325 (1980).
Ruckebusch. Y.: Influx afférrents d'origine péricardique dans les nerfs phréniques. C. R. Soc. Biol.155, 524–527 (1961).
Sleight, P.: A cardiovascular depressor reflex from the epicardium of the left ventricle of the dog. J. Physiol.173, 321–343 (1964).
Sleight, P., J. G. Widdicombe: Action potentials in fibres from receptors in the epicardium and myocardium of the dog's left ventricle. J. Physiol.181, 235–258 (1965).
Sleight, P., J. G. Widdicombe: Action potentials in afferent fibres from pericardial mechanoreceptors in the dog. J. Physiol.181, 259–269 (1965).
Staszewska-Barczak, J., G. J. Dusting: Sympathetic cardiovascular reflex initiated by bradykinin-induced stimulation of cardiac pain receptors in the dog. Clin. Exp. Pharmacol. Physiol.4, 443–452 (1977).
Staszewska-Barczak, J., G. J. Dusting, D. E. May, P. N. Nolan: Effects of prostacyclin on cardiovascular reflexes from the ventricular epicardium of the dog: comparison with the effects of prostaglandin E2. Prostaglandins21, 905–915 (1981).
Staszewska-Barczak, J., S. H. Ferreira, J. R. Vane: An excitatory nociceptice cardiac reflex elicited by bradykinin and potentiated by prostaglandins and myocardial ischaemia. Cardiovasc. Res.10, 314–327 (1976).
Uchida, Y., S. Murao: Bradykinin-induced excitation of afferent cardiac sympathetic nerve fibres. Jap. Heart J.15, 84–91 (1974).
Ueda, H., Y. Uchida, K. Kamisaka: Distribution and responses of the cardiac sympathetic receptors to mechanically induced circulatory changes. Jap. Heart J.10, 70–81 (1969).
Wallenstein, S., C. L. Zucker, J. L. Fleiss: Some statistical methods useful in circulation research. Circulat. Res.47, 1–9 (1980).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Nolan, P.N., Luk, D.E. & Staszewska-Barczak, J. Reflex effects evoked from the parietal pericardium in the dog: Comparison with responses from the visceral pericardium. Basic Res Cardiol 78, 654–664 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01907212
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01907212