Robert L Muelleman
Tanzania
Research Article
Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors and Cardiac Vagal activity in Rats with Type 2 Diabetes
Author(s): Jinxu Liu, Dongze Zhang, Huiyin Tu, Robert L Muelleman, Wei-Zhong Wang and Yu-Long LiJinxu Liu, Dongze Zhang, Huiyin Tu, Robert L Muelleman, Wei-Zhong Wang and Yu-Long Li
Reduced cardiac parasympathetic activity is involved in sudden cardiac death and is responsible for high mortality in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) mediate synaptic transmission in the intracardiac ganglia (ICG) and regulate the excitability of postganglionic parasympathetic neurons. We hypothesized that changes in the functional responsiveness of postsynaptic nAChRs to nicotine (a nAChR agonist) might be involved in attenuated cardiac parasympathetic (vagal) activity in type 2 diabetic rats. A rat model of T2DM was induced by a combination of both high-fat diet and injection of low-dose streptozotocin (30 mg/kg, i.p.). As an index of cardiac vagal function, changes of heart rate in response to graded vagal efferent nerve stimulation were blunted in T2DM rats, compared to sham rats. In isolated Langendorff-perfused hearts, th.. View More»
