The mechano-gated channel inhibitor GsMTx4 reduces the exercise pressor reflex in decerebrate rats.

KEY POINTS: Mechanical and metabolic stimuli from contracting muscles evoke reflex increases in blood pressure, heart rate and sympathetic nerve activity. Little is known, however, about the nature of the mechano-gated channels on the thin fibre muscle afferents that contribute to evoke this reflex, termed the exercise pressor reflex. We determined the effect of GsMTx4, an inhibitor of mechano-gated Piezo channels, on the exercise pressor reflex evoked by intermittent contraction of the triceps surae muscles in decerebrated, unanaesthetized rats. GsMTx4 reduced the pressor, cardioaccelerator and renal sympathetic nerve responses to intermittent contraction but did not reduce the pressor responses to femoral arterial injection of compounds that stimulate the metabolically-sensitive thin fibre muscle afferents. Expression levels of Piezo2 channels were greater than Piezo1 channels in rat dorsal root ganglia. Our findings suggest that mechanically-sensitive Piezo proteins contribute to the generation of the mechanical component of the exercise pressor reflex in rats. Mechanical and metabolic stimuli within contracting skeletal muscles evoke reflex autonomic and cardiovascular adjustments. In cats and rats, gadolinium has been used to investigate the role played by the mechanical component of this reflex, termed the exercise pressor reflex. Gadolinium, however, has poor selectivity for mechano-gated channels and exerts multiple off-target effects. We tested the hypothesis that GsMTX4, a more selective mechano-gated channel inhibitor than gadolinium and a particularly potent inhibitor of mechano-gated Piezo channels, reduced the exercise pressor reflex in decerebrate rats. Injection of 10 μg of GsMTx4 into the arterial supply of the hindlimb reduced the peak pressor (control: 24 ± 5, GsMTx4: 12 ± 5 mmHg, P < 0.01), cardioaccelerator and renal sympathetic nerve responses to tendon stretch, a purely mechanical stimulus, but had no effect on the pressor responses to intra-arterial injection of α,β-methylene ATP or lactic acid. Moreover, injection of 10 μg of GsMTx4 into the arterial supply of the hindlimb reduced the peak pressor (control: 24 ± 2, GsMTx4: 14 ± 3 mmHg, P < 0.01), cardioaccelerator and renal sympathetic nerve responses to electrically-induced intermittent hindlimb muscle contractions. By contrast, injection of 10 μg of GsMTx4 into the jugular vein had no effect on the pressor, cardioaccelerator, or renal sympathetic nerve responses to contraction. Quantitative RT-PCR and western blot analyses indicated that both Piezo1 and Piezo2 channel isoforms were natively expressed in rat dorsal root ganglia tissue. We conclude that GsMTx4 reduced the exercise pressor reflex in decerebrate rats and that the reduction was attributable, at least in part, to its effect on mechano-gated Piezo channels.