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Chronic hypoxia affects peripheral and central vasoactive intestinal peptide-like immunoreactivity in the rat
L Poncet1, L Denoroy, Y Dalmaz
1Département de Médecine Expérimentale, INSERM U 52, CNRS URA 1195, Université Claude Bernard, Lyon, France.
Abstract:
The influence of long-term hypoxia on vasoactive intestinal peptide-like immunoreactivity (VIP-LI) in discrete brain areas and peripheral structures was assessed by RIA. Rats were exposed to normobaric hypoxia (10% O2-90% N2) for 14 days. VIP-LI was significantly increased in carotid bodies of hypoxic animals (204% vs. normoxic animals). On the other hand, VIP-LI was decreased in the anterior pituitary (-68%), suprachiasmatic nuclei (-29%) and periventricular nuclei (-26%). No significant variation in VIP-LI was observed in other peripheral structures and discrete brain area studied. These results suggest that long-term hypoxia induces alterations in VIP systems implicated in chemoreception, biological rhythms and neuroendocrine functions.