Age dependent heart rate responses to prostacyclin (PGI2) in unanaesthetized fetal and neonatal sheep

Intravenous injections of PGI2 (1.5-12 X 10(-5) nmol/ml blood volume) caused hypotensive responses which increased with dose in both fetal and neonatal sheep. In the fetus, as gestation advanced and basal heart rate declined, the predominant heart rate response to PGI2 changed progressively from bradycardia to tachycardia. In the neonate, PGI2 always induced tachycardia and the effect was unrelated to postnatal age. The bradycardia induced by PGI2 in young fetal sheep (123-132 days) was converted to tachycardia following either bilateral vagotomy or cervical cord transection. Heart rate was unchanged by PGI2 in fetal sheep subjected to both procedures. The depressor response to PGI2 was enhanced by cervical cord transection but was essentially unchanged in fetal sheep subjected to either bilateral vagotomy alone or combined vagotomy and cord section. Despite increased plasma renin activity following PGI2, the cardiovascular response was not modified by bilateral nephrectomy. It is concluded that while intravenous PGI2 has a similar depressor effect in both fetal and neonatal sheep the heart rate response is age-dependent. Bradycardia is the principal response in young fetal sheep and is mediated by vagal pathways while tachycardia, which is the more usual response in older sheep, is probably sympathetic in nature.