Cardiopulmonary and arterial baroreflex responses to acute volume expansion during fetal and postnatal development
Merrill, D.C.; Segar, J.L.; McWeeny, O.J.; Smith, B.A.; Robillard, J.E.
American Journal of Physiology 267(4 Pt 2): H1467-H1475
1994
ISSN/ISBN: 0002-9513 PMID: 7943393 Document Number: 428053
Recent studies demonstrated that renal denervation had no effect on the natriuretic response to volume expansion (VE) in fetal sheep, suggesting that the sensitivity of the cardiopulmonary reflex in response to VE is impaired in the fetus. To test this hypothesis, we investigated the renal sympathetic nerve activity (RSNA) and heart rate (HR) responses to 20 and 50% intravascular VE in fetal (130-135 days gestation; term 145 days) (n = 7), newborn (n = 8), and 6- to 8-wk-old sheep (n = 9). Despite similar increases in right atrial pressure (RAP) in the three groups, 20% VE had no significant effect on RSNA and HR in fetal sheep but significantly decreased RSNA in newborn (-22.8 +- 7.3%) and 6- to 8-wk-old sheep (-32.1 +- 11.7%). Bradycardic responses to VE were also observed in both newborn (from 237 +- 6 to 200 +- 12 beats/min) and 6- to 8-wk-old sheep (from 170 +- 9 to 140 +- 9 beats/min). A 50% VE had no significant effect on fetal RSNA and HR, whereas it increased RAP by 6.8 +- 0.9 mmHg. In addition, we tested the hypothesis that interactions between cardiopulmonary and arterial baroreflexes in response to VE change during development. We found that 20 and 50% VE shifted the RSNA and HR arterial baroreflex response curves to the right in the fetus but had no significant effects on the gain of the arterial baroreflex curves in either fetal, newborn, or 6- to 8-wk-old sheep. In summary, this study demonstrates that the RSNA and HR responses to cardiopulmonary receptor stimulation are impaired during fetal life and increase after birth.