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Interaction between clonidine and N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors in the caudal ventrolateral medulla of rats

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Abstract

It is known that the caudal ventrolateral medulla (CVLM) plays an important role in controlling blood pressure and mediating the cardiovascular effects of centrally acting antihypertensive drugs such as clonidine. Recently, the effect of clonidine was believed to be related to the functional states of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors. The present work was designed to observe the interactions between clonidine and NMDA receptor in the CVLM. Unilaterally injected clonidine (6 nmol) into the CVLM not only produced a pressor action, but also effectively (P<0.01, n=8) antagonized the decreases in both mean arterial pressure (MAP) (−22.3±5.0 to −7.9±2.3 mmHg) and heart rate (HR) (−31.9±5.9 to −10.3±2.7 beats/min) evoked by L-glutamate in the CVLM. Unilaterally injected NMDA receptor antagonist MK801 (200 pmol) into the CVLM significantly increased MAP by 26.5±3.7 mmHg and HR by 37.1±7.6 beats/min, and completely (P<0.01, n=10) abolished the pressor effect (16.1±6.6 to 1.5±2.8 mmHg) of clonidine in the CVLM. In conclusion, these findings show that NMDA receptors within the CVLM contribute to clonidine-induced action, and suggest that the CVLM plays an important role in the interaction between clonidine and NMDA receptors.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Major State Basic Research Development Program of People’s Republic of China (No. G2000056905) and the Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 30070306). We thank Dr. J. Lu for his expert statistical assistance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physiology, Second Military Medical University, 800 Xiang-Yin Road, 200433, Shanghai, China

    Wei-Zhong Wang, Wen-Jun Yuan & Yan-Xia Pan

  2. Department of Physiology and Pathophysiology, Peking University, 100038, Beijing, China

    Chao-Shu Tang

  3. Department of Pharmacology, Second Military Medical University, 200433, Shanghai, China

    Ding-Feng Su

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  1. Wei-Zhong Wang
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  2. Wen-Jun Yuan
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  3. Yan-Xia Pan
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Correspondence to Wei-Zhong Wang.

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Wang, WZ., Yuan, WJ., Pan, YX. et al. Interaction between clonidine and N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors in the caudal ventrolateral medulla of rats. Exp Brain Res 158, 259–264 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-004-1902-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-004-1902-5

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