Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2010;38(1):71-6.
doi: 10.1515/jpm.2010.009.

Cholinergic signal activated renin angiotensin system associated with cardiovascular changes in the ovine fetus

Chunsong Geng  1 , Caiping Mao, Lei Wu, Yu Cheng, Rulu Liu, Bingxin Chen, Ling Chen, Lubo Zhang, Zhice Xu
Affiliations

Cholinergic signal activated renin angiotensin system associated with cardiovascular changes in the ovine fetus

Chunsong Geng et al. J Perinat Med. 2010.

Abstract

Aim: Cholinergic regulation is important in the control of cardiovascular and endocrine responses. The mechanisms behind cardiovascular responses induced by cholinergic activation are explored by studying hormonal systems, including renin-angiotensin and vasopressin (VP).

Results: In chronically prepared fetal sheep, intravenous infusion of the cholinergic agonist carbachol increased fetal systolic, diastolic, and mean arterial pressure accompanied with bradycardia at near-term. Although intravenous administration of carbachol had no effect on plasma VP concentrations, this agonist increased angiotensin I and angiotensin II levels in fetal plasma. Fetal blood values, including sodium, osmolality, nitric oxide, hemoglobin, and hematocrit were unchanged by intravenous carbachol.

Conclusion: Cholinergic activation by carbachol controls fetal blood pressure and heart rate in utero. An over-activated fetal renin-angiotensin-system (RAS) is associated with changes in vascular pressure following intravenous administration of carbachol, indicating that the cholinergic stimulation-mediated hormonal mechanism in the fetus might play a critical role in the regulation of cardiovascular homeostasis.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Effect of intravenous injection of vehicle or carbachol on the preterm fetal systolic pressure (SP, mm Hg), diastolic pressure (DP, mm Hg), and mean arterial pressure (MAP, mm Hg). 0 min, time of intravenous injection. *P<0.05 (statistical significant) compared with the baseline level (n=5/each group).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Effect of intravenous injection of vehicle or carbachol on the preterm fetal heart rate (in beats/min). 0 min, time of intravenous injection. *P<0.05 (statistical significant) compared with the baseline level (n=5/each group).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Effect of intravenous (iv) infusion of vehicle or carbachol on fetal plasma angiotensin I, angiotensin II levels. *P<0.05 (statistical significant) compared with baseline level (n=5/each group).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Barbosa SP, de Gobbi JI, Zilioli L, Camargo LA, Saad WA, Renzi A. Role of cholinergic and adrenergic pathways of the medial septal area in the water intake and pressor response to central angiotensin II and carbachol in rats. Brain Res Bull. 1995;37:463–6. - PubMed
    1. Bradd J, Dubin J, Due B, Miselis RR, Montor S, Rogers WT. Mapping of carotid sinus inputs and vagal cardiac outputs in the rat. Soc Neurosci Abstr. 1989;15:593.
    1. Breen S, Rees S, Walker D. Identification of brainstem neurons responding to hypoxia in fetal and newborn sheep. Brain Res. 1997;748:107–21. - PubMed
    1. Brezenoff HE. Cardiovascular responses to intrahypothalamic injections of carbachol and certain cholinesterase inhibitors. Neuropharmacology. 1972;11:637–44. - PubMed
    1. Brezenoff HE, Giuliano R. Cardiovascular control by cholinergic mechanisms in the central nervous system. Ann Rev Pharmacol Toxicol. 1982;22:341–81. - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources