GABAergic modulation of noradrenaline release caused by blood pressure changes in the rat median preoptic area

Experiments using in-vivo microdialysis methods were conducted to investigate whether blood pressure changes cause an alteration in the release of noradrenaline (NA) in the median preoptic nucleus (MnPO) and whether the γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptor mechanism is involved in the modulation of the pressure response-induced alteration in the NA release. In urethane-anesthetized male rats, intravenous administration of metaraminol, an α-agonist, significantly produced an increase in dialysate NA concentration in the MnPO area accompanied by an elevation in the mean arterial pressure (MAP). Perfusion with GABA (10 μM) through the dialysis probe elicited a significant decrease in either MAP or the NA concentration in the MnPO area. Similar perfusion with either the GABAA receptor antagonist bicuculline (10 μM) or the GABAB receptor antagonist phaclofen (10 μM) caused a significant increase in both MAP and the NA release in the MnPO area. Either bicuculline or phaclofen administered together with the metaraminol further enhanced the metaraminol-induced MAP and NA release in the MnPO area. The degree of increases in the both MAP of the NA release was significantly greater in the bicuculline-treated group than in the phaclofen-treated group. These results suggest that the NA release in the MnPO area may be potentiated during an elevation in arterial pressure caused by the metaraminol injection and imply that the NA release may be mediated through GABAA receptors rather than GABAB receptors in the MnPO area.