Development of cardiovascular responses to hypoxia in larvae of the frog Xenopus laevis.

Cardiovascular responses (blood pressure, heart rate, stroke volume, cardiac output, and peripheral vascular resistance) to acute hypoxia (Po2 = 70 mmHg) in developing larvae of Xenopus laevis from Nieuwkoop-Faber (NF) stage 45 and up to newly metamorphosed froglets were investigated. The results revealed two distinct response patterns to acute hypoxia in "early" (NF stages 45-48 and 49-51) and "late" (NF stages 52-53, 54-57, and 58-62) larval Xenopus. The early larvae responded to acute hypoxia with a significantly decreased stroke volume, cardiac output, and blood pressure. Peripheral resistance increased, whereas no change in heart rate occurred. In late larvae, stroke volume and blood pressure increased during acute hypoxia, but an offsetting bradycardia prevented major changes in cardiac output. We conclude that, up to stage 51 of development, hypoxia exerts a direct inhibitory effect on the heart and smooth muscle of the blood vessels, with no Frank-Starling relationship apparent. Older larvae show evidence of both intrinsic and extrinsic regulation of the cardiovascular system in response to acute hypoxia, suggesting that there is a specific point in larval development when cardiovascular regulation during hypoxia is expressed.