ANALYSES OF PULMONARY VENTILATION AND RESPIRATORY PATTERN IN SPONTANEOUSLY HYPERTENSIVE RATS DURING DEVELOPMENT

• Grant number: 23/06856-6
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: September 01, 2023
• End date: October 31, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Physiology - Physiology of Organs and Systems
• Principal Investigator: Daniel Breseghello Zoccal
• Grantee: Beatriz Nunes Vieira
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Odontologia (FOAr). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Araraquara. Araraquara , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Arterial hypertension (AH) is a relevant risk factor for the development of cardiovascular diseases. Clinical and experimental evidence indicates that increased sympathetic activity to blood vessels contributes to the development of essential AH. The reduction in oxygen (O2) availability to the central nervous system (CNS) during the postnatal period may influence the development and functioning of the sympathetic nervous system in juvenile and adult life. In hypertensive patients and spontaneously hypertensive (SH) rats, an experimental model for essential AH, there was a reduction in the lumen of the vertebrobasilar artery, leading to reduced blood flow and hypoxia in the brainstem. In SH animals, the condition of central hypoperfusion is observed from birth, suggesting a reduced O2 availability to the CNS during postnatal development. In association, studies show that adult SH animals have respiratory irregularities, with periods of apnea, possibly resulting from changes in the neural network that controls breathing. Given this evidence, in the current project, we will explore the hypothesis that SH rats present alterations in the mechanisms of respiratory rhythm generation from birth, causing irregularities and respiratory pauses. Such respiratory changes would result in brief periods of hypoventilation, compromising the supply of O2 to the CNS during the critical period of postnatal development. The objectives of the study will be explored using in vivo approaches, with measurements of pulmonary ventilation, breathing pattern and metabolic rate in SH and normotensive animals throughout development until adulthood.