Effects of vagotomy, splanchnic nerve lesion, and fluorocitrate on the transmission of acute hyperosmotic stress signals to the supraoptic nucleus

Abstract The response to hyperosmotic stresses in the abdominal cavity is regulated, in part, by vasopressin (VP)‐secreting neurons in the supraoptic nucleus (SON). How osmotic stress signals are transmitted to the brain is incompletely understood, and whether the transmission routes for osmotic stress signals differ between acute and chronic stresses is unknown. Here we investigated the role of the vagus, splanchnic nerves, and astrocytes in the SON in transducing acute hyperosmotic‐stress signals from the abdominal cavity. We found that acute administration of hyperosmotic saline triggered the activation of neurons as well as astrocytes in the SON and the adjoining ventral glia limitans (SON‐VGL). Severing the subdiaphragmatic vagal nerve (SDV) prevented the normal response of cells in the SON to HS treatment and attenuated the release of VP into the bloodstream. Lesioning the splanchnic nerves (SNL) diminished HS‐induced release of VP, but to a much lesser extent than SDV. Furthermore, SNL did not significantly affect the up‐regulation of Fos in SON neurons or the up‐regulation of Fos and GFAP in SON and SON‐VGL astrocytes that normally occurred in response to HS and did not affect HS‐induced expansion of the SON‐VGL. Inhibiting astrocytes with fluorocitrate (FCA) prevented the response of the SON to HS and attenuated the release of VP, similarly to SDV surgery. These results suggest that the vagus is the principle route for the transmission of hyperosmotic signals to the brain and that astrocytes in the SON region are necessary for the activation of SON neurons and the release of VP into the bloodstream. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.