Background Very recent studies revealed that obstructive sleep apnoea （OSA） is a contributor of the increased incidence and mortality of cancer in humans,but mechanisms of how OSA promotes tumorigenesis remains largely unknown.We investigated whether intermittent hypoxia with and without hypercapnia plays a role in tumorigenesis.Methods First,Sprague-Dawley （SD） male rats （12 weeks old） were subjected to different hypoxia exposures：intermittent hypoxia and intermittent hypoxia with hypercapnia; continuous hypoxia and normal air.The systemic application of chronic fast rate hypoxia with or without hypercapnia mimicked severe OSA patients with apnoea/hypopnea index equivalent to 60 events per hour.Then routine blood tests were performed and the levels of brain derived neurotrophic factor （BDNF） and miR-34a were examined.Results In contrast to intermittent hypoxia with hypercapnia,both intermittent hypoxia and continuous hypoxia treatments caused significantly higher levels of haematology parameters than normoxia treatments.Compared to normoxia,intermittent hypoxia with hypercapnia exposure resulted in substantial decrease of serum BDNF and,miR-34a in the lower brainstem,while less pronounced results were found in intermittent hypoxia and continuous hypoxia exposure.Conclusions The exposure of intermittent hypoxia with or without hypercapnia,mimicking the situations in severe OSA patients,was associated with,or even promoted tumorigenesis.
Extracellular pH （pHe） and intracellular pH （pHi） are important factors for the excitability of chemosensitive central respiratory neurons that play an important role in respiration and obstructive sleep apnea. It has been proposed that inhibition of central Na^＋/ H^＋ exchanger 3 （NHE-3）, a key pHi regulator in the brainstem, decreases the pH, leading to membrane depolarization for the maintenance of respiration. However, how intracellular pH affects the neuronal excitability of respiratory neurons remains largely unknown. In this study, we showed that NHE-3 mRNA is widely distributed in respiration-related neurons of the rat brainstem, including the dorsal vagal nucleus （DVN）. Whole-cell patch clamp recordings from DVN neurons in brain slices revealed that the standing outward current （Iso） through pH-sensitive K^＋ channels was inhibited in the presence of the specific NHE-3 inhibitor AVE0657 that decreased the pHi. Exposure of DVN neurons to an acidified PIle and AVE0657 （5 μmol/L） resulted in a stronger effect on firing rate and Iso than acidified pHe alone. Taken together, our results showed that intracellular acidification by blocking NHE-3 results in inhibition of a pH- sensitive K^＋ current, leading to synergistic excitation of chemosensitive DVN neurons for the regulation of respiration.
Jing ZhangHui PengSigrid C.VeaseyJing MaGuang-Fa WangKe-Wei Wang
