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Hemodynamic Characterization of Rodent Models of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension
Published on: April 11, 2016
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Sleep-disordered respiration in phenotypically normotensive, genetically hypertensive rats.
D W Carley1, K Berecek, A Videnovic
1Departments of Medicine, Pharmacology, and Bioengineering, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA. DWCarley@uic.edu
American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine
|October 13, 2000
Summary
Hypertension is linked to sleep apnea. In rats, a genetic predisposition for hypertension, not just high blood pressure, caused significant breathing disorders during sleep, suggesting a distinct genetic link.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Physiology
- Sleep Medicine
- Genetics
Background:
- Essential hypertension is associated with sleep-related breathing disorders.
- The underlying mechanisms linking hypertension and respiratory dysfunction during sleep are not well understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether sleep-related respiratory disorder in hypertensive rats is a consequence of cardiovascular changes or an independent genetic phenotype.
- To explore the genetic determinants of sleep-related breathing disorders in hypertension.
Main Methods:
- Polygraphic recordings were performed on genetically hypertensive rats, genetically normotensive rats, and phenotypically normotensive rats with a genetic background for hypertension (n=10 per group).
- Apnea index, respiratory rate, minute ventilation, and sleep architecture were analyzed during NREM and REM sleep.
- Blood pressure and heart period were monitored.
Main Results:
- Both rat groups with hypertension-related genes exhibited a >15-fold increase in apnea index during NREM sleep and a >500% increase during REM sleep compared to normotensive Wistar Kyoto rats.
- Despite cardiovascular normalization in phenotypically normotensive but genetically hypertensive rats, sleep-related breathing disorder persisted.
- Overall mean respiratory rate, minute ventilation, and sleep architecture were similar across all groups.
Conclusions:
- Disordered breathing during sleep in hypertensive rats appears to be a genetically determined phenotype, independent of cardiovascular derangements.
- This animal model offers a valuable tool for studying the determinants of sleep-related breathing disorders.
