PACAP modulates the respiratory rhythm generated in the brainstem slice preparation.

Pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP) is involved in breathing control and its absence leads to sudden death of neonatal mice. It has also been shown that exogenous PACAP application increases breathing by activating peripheral chemoreceptors. However, the contribution of the central respiratory network to PACAP activation of breathing has not been yet established. Here, I explore the effect of PACAP on the rhythmic inspiratory activity generated by the preBötzinger complex (PreBötC) in the brainstem slice preparation. The results show that PACAP increases, in a concentration-dependent manner, burst frequency and decreases burst amplitude of the respiratory rhythm generated in vitro. In conclusion, PACAP is a neuromodulator of the PreBötC suggesting that alterations in such neuromodulation might be involved in the sudden infant death-like phenotype.