Effects of veratridine and nifedipine on ammonia-induced rapidly adapting pulmonary stretch receptor stimulation in vagotomized rabbits.

We studied the effects of aerosol administration of veratridine (a sodium channel opener) or nifedipine (a calcium channel blocker) on the responses of rapidly adapting pulmonary stretch receptors (RARs) and dynamic lung compliance (Cdyn) to aerosols of 2 and 4% ammonia solutions in anesthetized spontaneously breathing rabbits without intact vagi. The RARs increased their activity following ammonia aerosol, and the increase was concentration-dependent. However, ammonia aerosol did not significantly alter the value of Cdyn. The RARs following aerosol administration of veratridine (about 200 micrograms) showed their characteristic firing pattern with several phases; each phase was characterized by the long high-frequency continuous discharges. Under these conditions, the response was not associated with any significant change in Cdyn. Even though the change in receptor activity produced by veratridine was restored to control level, subsequent aerosol application of ammonia led to similar firing patterns, as veratridine was given by aerosol, but had no significant effect on Cdyn. Following aerosol administration of nifedipine (about 1 and 2 mg) the RAR activity and Cdyn were similar to those during control. Furthermore, the ammonia-induced RAR stimulation was not significantly affected by nifedipine aerosol. These results suggest that the stimulation of RARs by ammonia in vagotomized rabbits is independent of changes in Cdyn and speculate that their excitatory effect is at least in part related to the activation of Na+ influx to the receptive terminals but is not involved in the secondary entry of Ca2+ ions to the receptor membrane, through voltage-dependent calcium channels.