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Biomedical subjects

V A Kulchitsky

Publications and source records attributed to V A Kulchitsky.

17 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Does obesity affect febrile responsiveness?

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: A decreased resistance to infection and impairments of immunity are common in obese humans and in rodents with hereditary obesity. Since brown fat thermogenesis is also suppressed in obese rodents, we hypothesized that obesity leads to a decreased febrile responsiveness. METHODS: We compared the fever responses to intravenous E. coli lipopolysaccharide (10 microg/kg) between Zucker fa/fa (obese due to a defective leptin receptor) and Fa/? (lean) rats and between Otsuka Long-Evans Tokushima Fatty (OLETF; obese due to the lacking cholecystokinin-A receptor) and Long-Evans Tokushima Otsuka (lean) rats. Obesity of Zucker fa/fa and OLETF rats was verified by increased body mass and fat content, hypertriglyceridemia and hypercholesterolemia. RESULTS: Neither fa/fa nor OLETF animals exhibited a decreased febrile responsiveness; if anything, their fevers tended to be higher than those in their lean counterparts. CONCLUSION: Obesity per se does not lead to antipyresis.

Adipose Tissue, Brown↗
PubMed2001

Central and peripheral mechanisms of nociceptive reflexes in conditions of acute phase reaction.

Since Elie Mechnikoff discovered the main principles of local acute phase reaction (APR), many new regularities of the development of both local and systemic inflammatory responses have been found. The time has come to examine anew the neurohumoral mechanisms of APR and especially those central and peripheral mechanisms that provide the formation of nociceptive responses aimed at maintaining homeostasis and surviving under unfavourable factors. The review analyses the neurohumoral mechanisms of nociceptive response generation in the course of APR.

Acute-Phase Proteins↗
PubMed2000

Multiple neural mechanisms of fever.

In rats, fevers induced by moderate-to-high doses of intravenous lipopolysaccharide consist of three phases (phases 1, 2 and 3) with body temperature peaks at approximately 1, 2, and 5 h postinjection, respectively. In this study, the effects of bilateral truncal subdiaphragmatic vagotomy and intraperitoneal capsaicin desensitization on febrile phases 1-3 were assessed in adult Wistar rats. Surgical vagotomy was performed approximately 30 d before the experiment; this procedure interrupts both afferent and efferent vagal fibers. Capsaicin was administered intraperitoneally in two consecutive injections (2 and 3 mg/kg, 3 h apart) 1 week prior to the experiment; this procedure desensitizes afferent fibers, primarily within the abdominal cavity, and does not lead to the known thermal effects of systemic capsaicin desensitization. At a neutral ambient temperature, the rats were given Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide (10 microg/kg) through a preimplanted jugular catheter, and their colonic temperature wes measured by thermocouples for 7 h. The control rats exhibited the typical triphasic febrile responses. Confirming our earlier studies, subdiaphragmatic vagotomy did not affect phases 1 and 2; it did, however, result in a 2.5-fold reduction of phase 3. Capsaicin desensitization modified the febrile response differently: phases 2 and 3 were unaffected, but phase 1 disappeared. We suggest that neural afferent fibers (nonvagal but perhaps vagal as well) play an important role in the early febrile response (phase 1) by transducing peripheral pyrogenic signals to the brain. We also suggest that vagal efferent fibers are likely to participate in the later febrile response (phase 3) via an unknown mechanism.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Does the formation of lipopolysaccharide tolerance require intact vagal innervation of the liver?

The study was designed to test whether intact vagal innervation of the liver is required for the formation of tolerance to lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Wistar rats were subjected to either denervation of the liver (transection of the hepatic and both celiac branches of the abdominal vagus) or sham surgery. Two weeks later, each rat had an osmotic pump implanted subcutaneously. The pump was filled with either a suspension of Escherichia coli LPS (18 mg/ml) in saline or saline alone. Via a catheter, the pump delivered its content into the right jugular vein at a rate of approximately 0.72 microl/kg/h (approximately 13 microg/kg/h of LPS) over 28 d. On day 25 of the infusion, each animal had another catheter implanted into the left jugular vein. Three days later, each rat was injected with a lethal bolus dose of LPS (15 mg/kg) and had its colonic temperature recorded. The saline-infused sham-operated rats responded to the bolus injection of LPS with hypothermia followed by a fever (mean response magnitude 1.0+/-0.2 degrees C); 91% of the animals died within 24 h. The LPS-primed shams developed marked tolerance: When challenged with a lethal dose of LPS, they exhibited a significantly smaller thermal response (magnitude 0.5 +/- 0.2 degrees C) and none died. No group of the vagotomized animals, whether LPS- or saline-primed, became tolerant: Both groups exhibited similar hypothermic responses to the bolus LPS injection and a substantial mortality rate (40 and 100%, respectively). The study shows that prolonged infusion of low doses of LPS leads to the formation of tolerance and that vagal denervation of the liver by hepato-celiac vagotomy suppresses this process. The mechanisms of vagal control of the formation of LPS tolerance remain speculative.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Lipopolysaccharide transport from the peritoneal cavity to the blood: is it controlled by the vagus nerve?

Vagotomy suppresses fever and hyperalgesia caused by intraperitoneal lipopolysaccharide (LPS) but has little effect on the febrile response to intravenous or intramuscular LPS. This suggests that some vagus-mediated mechanisms are recruited only when LPS is administered via the intraperitoneal route. We hypothesized that such mechanisms are associated with LPS transport from the peritoneal cavity to the circulation. Adult Wistar rats underwent total subdiaphragmatic, bilateral selective celiac, or sham vagotomy. On day 28-32 after surgery, they were injected IP with Escherichia coli LPS (5, 20, or 100 microg/kg) or saline and decapitated 90 min thereafter. Their plasma levels of LPS and their plasma interleukin-6, adrenocorticotropin, and corticosterone responses to LPS were measured. Success of intraperitoneal administration of LPS was verified by increased interleukin-1beta and interleukin-6 concentrations in the peritoneal lavage fluid. Effectiveness of vagotomies was confirmed by increased stomach mass (food retention) and pancreas mass (hypertrophy). In the shams, LPS caused a dose-dependent endotoxemia and increased plasma levels of interleukin-6, adrenocorticotropin, and corticosterone. Neither celiac nor total vagotomy affected any of these responses. LPS escapes from the peritoneal cavity by two primary routes, viz., the hematogenous (via the portal vein) and lymphogenous (via the lymphatic system). The design of the present study did not allow for evaluating the rapid, hematogenous transport. The results obtained suggest that the abdominal vagus does not control the slow. lymphogenous escape of LPS from the peritoneal cavity.

Adrenocorticotropic Hormone↗
PubMed2000

Central pool of serotonin and tail-flick latency during two phases of biphasic fever in rats.

In experiments on male Wistar rats, the acute phase reaction was induced by a bolus intravenous injection of Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide (10 microg/kg) through a silicon catheter pre-implanted into the jugular vein. The colonic and skin temperature was measured with thermocouples. Changes in nociception were assessed based on tail flick latency (TFL) in response to a noxious heat stimulus. In this work, we observed the development of biphasic fever and phasic changes in TFL, namely, hyperalgesia in the first period of the acute phase reaction and hypoalgesia in its second phase. The catabolism of serotonin increased most considerably in the initial period of the acute phase reaction in the midbrain, striatum, and rostrodorsomedial medulla (on average, by 20-25%, 35-40%, and 95-100%, respectively). In the second phase of the acute phase reaction, despite a significant increase in the serotonin content in the striatum, midbrain, and cerebellum, there were no significant changes in serotonin catabolism in these parts of the CNS, which coincided with hypoalgesia. Thus, the phasic changes in TFL and colonic temperature after initiation of the acute phase reaction were accompanied by determinate changes in the catabolism of serotonin in different brain parts.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

Role of the solitary tract nucleus and caudal ventrolateral medulla in temperature responses in endotoxemic rats.

In experiments on conscious rats it was found that preliminary microinjection of 100 nl 100 microM glutamic acid to the rostral commissural part of the solitary tract nucleus or to the caudal ventrolateral medulla increased a rise in colonic temperature induced by systemically applied endotoxin (3 microg/kg Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide, i.p.) as compared to animals with intrabulbar injection of vehicle (control group). Preliminary microinjection of glutamate to the caudal commissural part of the solitary tract nucleus levelled the endotoxin-induced temperature response. After glutamate treatment of the caudal ventrolateral medulla there was a significant decrease in the noradrenaline content and decrease in the adrenaline level in the caudal (not significant) and rostral ventrolateral medulla (significant), as well as a small rise in noradrenergic activity at the solitary tract nucleus as compared to control animals. The post-mortem measurement of the optical density of brainstem tissues revealed its significant attenuation at the solitary tract nucleus and caudal ventrolateral medulla after glutamate as compared with these structures after vehicle. The involvement of monoaminergic systems of both structures under study in the initiation and control of temperature responses during endotoxemia is suggested.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

"Biphasic" fevers often consist of more than two phases.

This paper disproves the common belief that all doses of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) that are commonly referred to as biphasic fever inducing (>/=2 microg/kg) cause truly biphasic responses. A catheter was implanted into the right jugular vein of several strains of adult male rats, and the animals were habituated to the experimental conditions. At an ambient temperature of 30.0 degrees C, loosely restrained animals were injected with a 10 microg/kg dose of LPS (various preparations), and their colonic (Tc) and tail skin temperatures were monitored (from >/=1 h before to >/=7 h after the injection). The results are presented as time graphs and phase-plane plots; in the latter case the rate of change of Tc is plotted against Tc. In experiment 1 the intravenous injection of LPS (from Escherichia coli 0111:B4, phenol extract) into the rats (Bkl:Wistar) induced a triphasic febrile response, as is obvious from time graphs of Tc (3 peaks), time graphs of effector activity (3 waves of tail skin vasoconstriction), and phase-plane plots (3 complete loops); the injection of saline (control) induced no Tc changes. We analyzed whether the triphasic pattern was due to some peculiarities of the experimental design, i.e., the pyrogen preparation used (experiment 2) or the rat strain tested (experiment 3) or whether this pattern reflects a more general law. In experiment 2 we used the same (phenol) preparation of different LPS (from Shigella flexneri 1A and Salmonella typhosa) and a different preparation (TCA extract) of the same LPS (E. coli). Regardless of the LPS used, rats of the Bkl:Wistar strain responded to the 10 microg/kg dose with the triphasic fever. In experiment 3, rats of other strains [Bkl:Sprague-Dawley and Sim:(LE)fBR(Black-hooded)] were tested. Again, all animals responded to the 10 microg/kg dose of E. coli LPS (phenol extract) with the triphasic fever. Because all fevers caused by four different LPS preparations in three rat strains were triphasic, the triphasic pattern is likely to constitute an intrinsic characteristic of the febrile response.

Activity Cycles↗
PubMed1998

Methodology of fever research: why are polyphasic fevers often thought to be biphasic?

This study explains why the recently described triphasic lipopolysaccharide (LPS) fevers have been repeatedly mistaken for biphasic fevers. Experiments were performed in loosely restrained male Wistar rats with a catheter implanted into the right jugular vein. Each animal was injected with Escherichia coli LPS, and its colonic (Tc) and tail skin temperatures were monitored. The results are presented as time graphs and phase-plane plots; in the latter case the rate of change of Tc is plotted against Tc. At an ambient temperature (Ta) of 30.0 degrees C, the response to the 10 microg/kg dose of LPS was triphasic, as is obvious from time graphs of Tc (3 peaks), time graphs of effector activity (3 waves of tail skin vasoconstriction), and phase-plane plots (3 complete loops). When the Ta was below neutral (22.0 degrees C) or the LPS dose was higher (100 or 1,000 microg/kg), the time graph of Tc did not allow for the reliable detection of all three febrile phases, but the phase-plane plot and time graph of effector activity clearly revealed the triphasic pattern. In a separate experiment, LPS (10 microg/kg) or saline was injected via one of two different procedures: in the first group the injection was performed through the jugular catheter, from outside the experimental chamber; in the second group the same nonstressing injection was combined with opening the chamber and pricking the animal in its lower abdomen with a needle. In the first group the febrile response was obviously triphasic, and none of the phases was due to the procedure of injection per se (injection of saline did not affect Tc). In the second group the fever similarly consisted of three Tc rises, but it might have been readily mistaken for biphasic because the first rise was indistinguishable from stress hyperthermia occurring in the saline-injected (and needle-pricked) controls. We conclude that several methodological factors (dose of LPS, procedure of its injection, and Ta) have contributed, although each in a different way, to the common misbelief that there are only two febrile phases.

Activity Cycles↗
PubMed1998

Signaling the brain in systemic inflammation: which vagal branch is involved in fever genesis?

Recent evidence has suggested a role of abdominal vagal afferents in the pathogenesis of the febrile response. The abdominal vagus consists of five main branches (viz., the anterior and posterior celiac branches, anterior and posterior gastric branches, and hepatic branch). The branch responsible for transducing a pyrogenic signal from the periphery to the brain has not as yet been identified. In the present study, we address this issue by testing the febrile responsiveness of male Wistar rats subjected to one of four selective vagotomies: celiac (CBV), gastric (GBV), hepatic (HBV), or sham (SV). In the case of CBV, GBV, and HBV, only the particular vagal branch(es) was cut; for SV, all branches were left intact. After the postsurgical recovery (26-29 days), the rats had a catheter implanted into the jugular vein. On days 29-32, their colonic temperature (Tc) responses to a low dose (1 microg/kg) of Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide (LPS) were studied. Three days later, the animals were subjected to a 24-h food and water deprivation, and the effectiveness of the four vagotomies to induce gastric food retention, pancreatic hypertrophy, and impairment of the portorenal osmotic reflex was assessed by weighing the stomach and pancreas and measuring the specific gravity of bladder urine, respectively. Stomach mass, pancreas mass, and urine density successfully separated the four experimental groups into four distinct clusters, thus confirming that each type of vagotomy had a different effect on the indexes measured. The Tc responses of SV, CBV, and GBV rats to LPS did not differ and were characterized by a latency of approximately 40 min and a maximal rise of 0.7 +/- 0.1, 0.6 +/- 0.1, and 0.9 +/- 0.2 degrees C, respectively. The fever response of the HBV rats was different; practically no Tc rise occurred (0.1 +/- 0.2 degrees C). The HBV appeared to be the only selective abdominal vagotomy affecting the febrile responsiveness. We conclude, therefore, that the hepatic vagus plays an important role in the transduction of a pyrogenic signal from the periphery to the brain.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

The vagus nerve in the thermoregulatory response to systemic inflammation.

Experimentally, systemic inflammation induced by a bolus intravenous injection of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) may be accompanied by three different thermoregulatory responses: monophasic fever (the typical response to low doses of LPS), biphasic fever (medium doses), and hypothermia (high doses). In our recent study [Romanovsky, A. A., V. A. Kulchitsky, C. T. Simons, N. Sugimoto, and M. Székely. Am. J. Physiol. (Regulatory Integrative Comp. Physiol.). In press], monophasic fever did not occur in subdiaphragmatically vagotomized rats. In the present work, we asked whether vagotomy affects the two other types of thermoregulatory response. Adult Wistar rats were vagotomized (or sham operated) and had an intravenous catheter implanted. On day 28 postvagotomy, the thermal responses to the intravenous injection of Escherichia coli LPS (0, 1, 10, 100, or 1,000 micrograms/kg) were tested in either a neutral (30 degrees C) or slightly cool (25 degrees C) environment. Three major results were obtained. 1) In the sham-operated rats, the 1 microgram/kg dose of LPS caused at 30 degrees C a monophasic fever with a maximal colonic temperature (Tc) rise of approximately 0.6 degree C; this response was abated (no Tc changes) in the vagotomized rats. 2) At 30 degrees C, all responses to higher doses of LPS (10-1,000 micrograms/kg) were represented by biphasic fevers (the higher the dose, the less pronounced the first and the more pronounced the second phase was); none of these biphasic fevers was altered in the vagotomized animals. 3) In response to the 1,000 micrograms/kg dose at 25 degrees C, hypothermia occurred: Tc changed by -0.5 +/- 0.1 degree C (nadir); this hypothermia was exaggerated (-1.1 +/- 0.1 degrees C) in the vagotomized rats. It is concluded that vagal afferentation may be important in the mediation of the response to minor amounts of circulating LPS, whereas the response to larger amounts is brought about mostly (if not exclusively) by nonvagal mechanisms. This difference may be explained by the dose-dependent mechanisms of the processing of exogenous pyrogens. Vagotomized animals also appear to be more sensitive to the hypothermizing action of LPS in a cool environment; the mechanisms of this phenomenon remain speculative.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Febrile responsiveness of vagotomized rats is suppressed even in the absence of malnutrition.

The repeatedly observed attenuation of fever in vagotomized rats has been accepted as evidence of an essential role of vagal afferents in the transduction of pyrogenic signals from the periphery to the brain. If, however, the general condition of a vagotomized animal is poor (the usual case) and accompanied by malnutrition and body mass loss (common complications of vagotomy), the febrile responsiveness can be suppressed not because of the lack of vagal afferentation, but rather secondarily to a malnutrition-associated thermogenic incompetence. In the present study, we addressed this dilemma. Male Wistar rats were subjected to subdiaphragmatic vagotomy (or sham surgery) and, 24 days later, catheterized in the jugular vein. Postsurgically, the rats were closely watched and fed highly palatable food. Their febrile responsiveness [colonic (Tc) and tail skin (Tsk) temperature responses] to Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide (LPS: 1 microgram/kg i.v.) was tested on day 27 postvagotomy. To verify the completeness of vagotomy, each rat was food deprived for 24 h and then euthanized; its stomach's evacuatory function was assessed by weighing the organ. One month postsurgery, both food consumption and body mass of the vagotomized rats (33 +/- 2 g/day and 313 +/- 4 g, respectively) were similar to the control values (30 +/- 1 g/day and 315 +/- 8 g). In the sham rats, LPS induced a monophasic Tc rise of 0.5 +/- 0.3 degree C at 70 min postinjection (peak), preceded by a fall in Tsk. Neither this Tsk fall (tail skin vasoconstriction) nor the resultant fever occurred in the vagotomized rats; at 70 min, Tc change was -0.1 +/-0.1 degree C. The gastric mass (4.1 +/- 0.5 g in the vagotomized vs. 1.8 +/- 0.1 g in sham rats) indicated the effectiveness of vagotomy. In sum, although the vagotomy-associated malnutrition was successfully prevented with special perioperative care, the vagotomized animals still did not respond to LPS with fever. Malnutrition is, therefore, unlikely to constitute the main reason of the febrile irresponsiveness of vagotomized rats.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Cold defense mechanisms in vagotomized rats.

Subdiaphragmatically vagotomized rats cannot mount a febrile response to pyrogens and are believed to have severe thermoregulatory deficiencies. We addressed the issue of thermoeffector competence of vagotomized rats by asking three questions. In Expt. 1 we asked, can vagotomized rats readily recruit tail skin vasoconstriction in the course of a moderate cold exposure? In Expt. 2 the question was, can brown adipose tissue (BAT) thermogenesis readily be activated in vagotomized rats (e.g., in response to a tail pinch)? In Expt. 3, we investigated the question: can vagotomized rats elevate their body temperature in response to ephedrine (a drug of high hyperthermizing potential) to the same extent as sham-operated controls? Rats were vagotomized or sham operated and implanted with a catheter into the jugular vein and a thermocouple into the interscapular BAT. To prevent the common complications of vagotomy, special perioperative care was given. During experiments, colonic, tail skin, and BAT temperatures (Tc, Tsk, and TBAT, respectively) were measured. The vagotomized animals were well nourished and had a body mass (325 +/- 6 g) similar to that of the controls (338 +/- 6 g). In Expt. 1, in response to external cooling (15 degrees C, 1 h), the vagotomized (n = 30) and sham-operated (n = 31) rats recruited tail skin vasoconstriction at close values of both Tc (37.84 +/- 0.08 and 37.97 +/- 0.07 degrees C) and Tsk (33.16 +/- 0.17 and 33.18 +/- 0.18 degrees C, respectively). In Expt. 2, tail pinch-associated stress in vagotomized rats resulted in a sharp rise in the TBAT-Tc gradient by 0.3-1.0 degree C. In Expt. 3, ephedrine administered intravenously (whether in a 5 or 35 mg/kg dose) evoked similar hyperthermic responses in the vagotomized and sham-operated rats: a moderate (approximately 2.5 degrees C) Tc rise in the low dose and a "supramaximal" (approximately 5.0 degrees C) rise in the high dose. In sum, the answer to all three questions asked is yes. Vagotomized rats, at least when well nourished, exhibit no signs of thermoeffector deficiency. It is, therefore, not effector incompetence but rather vagal deafferentation per se that can explain the febrile irresponsiveness of vagotomized rats.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

First and second phases of biphasic fever: two sequential stages of the sickness syndrome?

We hypothesized that the systemic inflammatory response undergoes two consecutive stages, each characterized by different nonspecific sickness patterns. To test this hypothesis, we studied thermal, nociceptive, and motor responses to lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in 43 unanesthetized, habituated, and lightly restrained male Wistar rats previously implanted with a catheter in the jugular vein. Escherichia coli LPS was injected intravenously in a dose of 0, 0.1, 1, 10, 100, or 1,000 micrograms/kg. Colonic temperature (Tc) was measured with a thermocouple. Changes in nociception were assessed by tail flick latency (TFL) to a noxious heat stimulus. Motor activity was evaluated using an observation-based activity score (AS). The two lowest doses were apyrogenic. The next dose induced a monophasic fever with a maximal Tc rise of 0.9 +/- 0.2 degrees C at 108 +/- 11 min post-LPS. The next two higher doses caused biphasic fevers with the first and second peaks of 0.7 +/- 0.1 and 1.4 +/- 0.1 degrees C (10 micrograms/kg) and 0.7 +/- 0.1 and 1.4 +/- 0.2 degrees C (100 micrograms/kg) occurring at 60 +/- 6 and 165 +/- 17 min and at 45 +/- 3 and 141 +/- 6 min, respectively. The highest dose of LPS resulted in a Tc fall (nadir, -0.6 +/- 0.1 degree C at 83 +/- 6 min). Two different sickness patterns were exhibited. The first (high Tc, low TFL and high AS) occurred during the monophasic fever and the first (early) phase of the biphasic fevers, and it was termed the early phase syndrome. The second pattern (high or low Tc, high TFL, and low AS) developed during the second (late) phase of the biphasic fevers and LPS-hypothermia (endotoxin shock), and it was termed the late phase syndrome. Occurring at different stages of the systemic inflammatory response and developing through different coping patterns [fight/flight (energy expenditure) vs. depression/withdrawal (energy conservation)], the two syndromes represent two different types of adaptation to infection and have different biological significance. Viewing sickness as a dynamic entity is justified clinically. Such a dynamic approach to the problem resolves several contradictions in the current concept of sickness.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Capsaicin-sensitive area in the ventral surface of the rat medulla.

In acute experiments on nembutal-urethan-anesthetized rats, structures selectively sensitive to capsaicin were found near the ventral surface of the medulla at the exit of hypoglossal nerve roots. Microinjection of 5-50 nl 0.01% capsaicin to the rostral region of the capsaicin-sensitive area mostly activated respiration, arterial pressure and heart rate (HR) while that to the caudal region inhibited arterial pressure and HR. In chronic experiments on rats, injection of 25 nl 1% capsaicin to the caudal capsaicin-sensitive area led to a decrease in arterial pressure by 35-45% and in HR by 10-15% within a week after operation. Arterial pressure and HR virtually reached the control level and the rostral and caudal ventral medulla showed asymmetric distribution of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate-diaphorase (NADPH-d)-positive cells by the end of the 2nd week. It is suggested that nitric oxide may be involved in the mechanisms of neurochemical rearrangements in the brainstem after application of capsaicin to the caudal ventrolateral medulla (CVLM).

Animals↗