The effects of adrenalectomy in blood flow adjustments produced by sciatic nerve stimulation in rats

Sciatic nerve stimulation (SNS) produces hypertension, tachycardia, vasodilatation in the stimulated limb and vasoconstriction in the limb contralateral to the stimulation site. These autonomic adjustments represent an equivalent of the cardiovascular responses described as features of defense-alerting reactions. However, while the muscle vasodilatation observed in rats during stimulation of hypothalamic sites involved in defense reactions has been referred to as a general, non-selective increase in blood flow, previous studies conducted on cats have demonstrated that high-intensity cutaneus stimulation produces vasodilatation in the stimulated limb and vasoconstriction in the other limbs. In anesthetized rats, the effects of SNS in the muscle vascular territory of the contralateral limb, as well as the participation of circulating catecholamines in these adjustments continued to be unknown. Therefore, in the present study we investigated the blood flow adjustments elicited by SNS in the stimulated and in the contralateral hind limbs before and after bilateral adrenalectomy. In urethane-anesthetized, paralyzed, and artificially ventilated rats, SNS (800-1000 microA, 1 ms, 100 Hz, 10 s) produced hypertension, tachycardia, vasodilatation in the stimulated hindlimb and vasoconstriction in the contralateral hindlimb. After bilateral adrenalectomy the pressor responses to SNS were abolished, the vasodilatation in the stimulated limb was greater and the vasoconstriction in the contralateral limb was replaced by vasodilatation. These results suggest that the vasodilatation in the stimulated limb does not depend on circulating catecholamines.