Adrenergic Control of Primo Tissue Size in Rats

Hyperplastic morphological changes associated with erythropoiesis have been reported in the primo vascular system (PVS) tissue on the surface of abdominal organs in rats with heart failure (HF) or hemolytic anemia (HA). Objectives: Since adrenergic activity is commonly activated in both HF and HA, we investigated whether adrenergic signaling mediates the abovementioned morphological changes.

We compared the effects of adrenolytic treatments (exercise training and 6-hydroxydopamine) on the gross morphology of the PVS tissues isolated from organ surfaces in HF or HA rats. HF and HA were induced by ligating the left coronary artery and injecting phenylhydrazine, respectively. We further compared the effects of norepinephrine and norepinephrine plus α- or β-adrenoceptor blockers.

The number of samples per rat, PN size, and proportion of red-colored samples in the PVS tissue increased in the HF and HA rats. These changes were reversed by adrenolytic treatments. Interestingly, 6-hydroxydopamine also reversed phenylhydrazineinduced hemolytic changes in erythrocytes. Subcutaneous administration of norepinephrine (3 mg/kg/d) increased the sampling frequency per rat and the PN size, but these effects were blunted at a higher dose (10 mg/kg/d). Norepinephrine administration had little effect on the proportion of red-colored tissues. Norepinephrine-induced morphological changes were completely blocked by a β-adrenoceptor antagonist (propranolol) but increased slightly by an α-adrenoceptor antagonist (phentolamine).

Adrenergic signaling controls hyperplastic changes in the organ surface PVS in rats. These findings may explain the morphological dynamics of the PVS tissues proposed by Bong Han Kim and further clarify the pathophysiological roles of the PVS.