Hemodynamic effects of posterior hypothalamic injection of neuropeptide Y in awake rats

Unilateral microinjection of neuropeptide Y (NPY) into the posterior hypothalamic nucleus was previously found to evoke a sympathoexcitatory-mediated increase in mean arterial pressure (MAP) in urethan-anesthetized rats. In this study, the effect of unilateral injection of NPY into the posterior hypothalamic nucleus on the cardiovascular system of conscious, freely moving rats was determined. Microinjection of NPY (0.2-2.4 nmol) or the cholinergic agonist carbachol (0.5-5.5 nmol) resulted in concentration-dependent increases in MAP. Pretreatment of animals with 7.5 mg/kg iv of the ganglionic blocker pentolinium resulted in a blockade of the increase in MAP evoked by microinjection of NPY (2.4 nmol) or carbachol (3.3 nmol). Despite their similarity of effects on MAP, NPY and carbachol evoked different changes in heart rate. NPY increased heart rate, whereas carbachol evoked a biphasic change in heart rate that consisted of an initial increase followed by a decrease. In addition, carbachol caused increases in both hindquarter and mesenteric vascular resistances, whereas NPY caused a short-lasting increase in mesenteric resistance and a tendency toward an increase in hindquarter resistance. Both NPY and carbachol increased total peripheral resistance while NPY decreased stroke volume. Cardiac output was not significantly affected by either NPY or carbachol, although NPY had a tendency to decrease cardiac output. These results suggest that microinjection of NPY or carbachol into the posterior hypothalamic nucleus of conscious rats evokes an increase in MAP primarily as a result of sympathoexcitation and that NPY and carbachol selectively affect autonomic nervous system control of the cardiovascular system.