Sensitivity of pulmonary chemo reflexes and lung inflation reflexes to repetitive stimulation and to inhibition with lidocaine and morphine

Yongyot Monsereenusorn, Sharon S. Cassidy, J. Richard Coast

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

3 Scopus citations

Abstract

To study reflex responses caused by stimulation of pulmonary C-fibers and lung inflation, we used a preparation in which the left pulmonary artery and veins were ligated and cannulated and the right and left bronchi were cannulated separately in open-chest dogs. These experiments were performed to establish whether the reflex responses to injections of 150 μg of capsaicin through the left pulmonary circulation and inflations of this left lung to 30 cm H2O would be diminished if repeated frequently. Furthermore, the sensitivities of the reflex responses evoked by these capsaicin injections and by left lung inflations (LLI) to blockade with lidocaine or with morphine were studied. Both repeated injections of capsaicin into the left pulmonary circulation and repeated inflations of the left lung for up to 100 min produced a persistent triad of reflex responses: bradycardia, hypotension, and cessation of diaphragmatic contractions. Lidocaine injections (50 mg) into the pulmonary artery of the vascularly isolated lung abolished all reflex responses to subsequent injections of capsaicin, but only attenuated the triad of responses to subsequent left lung inflations by half. Morphine sulfate (60 mg) administered to the pulmonary vascular bed of the isolated lung reduced, but did not eliminate, the triad of reflex responses to subsequent capsaicin injections and lung inflations. The influences of morphine upon capsaicin and lung inflation responses were not abolished by naloxone. These results indicate: (a) the sensory fibers which initiate the triad of pulmonary depressor reflex responses are not desensitized by repeated exposure to capsaicin or by repeated lung inflations; (b) sensory fibers other than pulmonary C-fiber receptors contribute to the lung inflation reflex; and (c) morphine and lidocaine interfere with the excitation of pulmonary C-fibers.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)166-174
Number of pages9
JournalNaunyn-Schmiedeberg's Archives of Pharmacology
Volume331
Issue number2-3
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 1985

Keywords

  • Capsaicin
  • Cardiovascular responses
  • Dogs
  • Naloxone
  • Pulmonary C fibers

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Pharmacology

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