Mechanosensitive Properties of Gastric Vagal Afferent Fibers in the Rat

Abstract

Single, teased fiber recordings were made from the decentralized right cervical vagus nerve (hyponodal) of the rat. A total of 67 afferent fibers that responded to gastric distension (GD) were studied: 9 fibers were stimulated by phasic balloon GD, 58 by more natural fluid GD. All balloon GD–responsive fibers had resting activity (3.1 imp/s), and 57/58 fluid GD responsive fibers had resting activity (1.3 imp/s). All balloon GD–responsive fibers exhibited a dynamic response to phasic distension followed by slow adaptation, whereas fluid GD–responsive fibers exhibited increasing responses as intragastric pressure increased, followed typically by slow adaptation. Responses to graded GD were studied in all fibers, and all gave increasing responses to increasing pressures (5–60 mmHg). Thresholds for response varied between 0 and 18 mmHg. Mean response thresholds for two durations of fluid GD (30 and 60 s) were 5.6 and 3.9 mmHg; the mean response threshold to phasic balloon GD (30 s duration) was 5.3 mmHg. The potential sensitizing effect of platelet activating factor (PAF, 50 or 100 ng · kg−1 · min−1 for 20 min) infused into the gastric artery was studied in 20 fibers. Fifteen fibers exhibited an increase in spontaneous activity; intragastric pressure also slightly increased during PAF infusion. The increase in activity produced by PAF was attenuated in the presence of the PAF receptor antagonist WEB 2086. After PAF-induced acute inflammation of the stomach, three of five fibers studied did not exhibit any change in response to graded GD. The present study characterized distension-sensitive afferent fibers in the right cervical vagus innervating the stomach of the rat by balloon GD and fluid GD. The results document that all distension-sensitive gastric vagal afferent fibers encoded the intensity of GD, but none had response thresholds in what might be considered the noxious range. PAF infusion activated mechanosensitive gastric vagal afferent fibers, but acute inflammation produced by PAF did not sensitize responses to GD.