On May 11, Dr. Jasdeep Kaur presented a live webinar on the topic of “Muscle Metaboreflex and Arterial Baroreflex: Action, Interaction and Altered Control of Heart Failure” - available on demand on our webinar library. Dr. Kaur began her discussion with a comprehensive and in-depth analysis of the concepts and experiments featured on our “Cardiovascular Reflexes and Regional Blood Flows” blog series, guiding the audience through key model instrumentation and physiological responses that define the muscle metaboreflex. She then introduced the baroreflex and its interaction with muscle metaboreflex and how this interaction affects the regulation of different vascular beds. Once the physiological mechanisms and effects were presented, Dr. Kaur discussed the data collected in subjects of heart failure induction and how all these interactions and responses were affected by this specific pathophysiological condition. A well-developed hypotheses, strategic instrumentation, and advanced data analysis used in this experimental model was key to uncovering this complex mechanistic regulatory network.

The blog series was based on publications featuring changes in the balance between vasoconstriction and vasodilation that occur during muscle metaboreflex activation. The model and instrumentation provided a unique set of tools to properly analyze different regional flows, with a higher distinction between the active ischemic muscle and the systemic/peripheral vasculature. Since we began this journey with blogs, here is a summary of what we covered so far:

• In “Cardiovascular Reflexes and Regional Blood Flows 1” the authors conclude there is a net vasodilation prevalence over vasoconstriction on the systemic/peripheral vasculature during metaboreflex activation.¹
• In “Cardiovascular Reflexes and Regional Blood Flows 2” the experiments uncovered a neurogenic vasoconstriction within the active ischemic muscle during reflex activation.²
• In “Cardiovascular Reflexes and Regional Blood Flows 3” the study describes an exacerbation of the ischemic active muscle vasoconstriction, mostly due to HF sympathetic overactivity, during the muscle metaboreflex activation.³ 

It was a wonderful opportunity to have Dr. Kaur walk us through these publications and provide a detailed explanation regarding the strategy that enabled this work. The webinar was a great example that methodology is not only defined by animal instrumentation and experiments, but also by appropriate data analysis. We believe that this is the kind of procedural information that the audience can apply to their projects, regardless of the animal model and/or variable of interest.

The Cardiovascular Reflexes and Regional Blood Flows blogs and webinar were a great opportunity to discuss this complex web of mechanistic pathways and responses, with the goal to engage the reader/listener in high level data and physiology at its finest. We hope you will be as enthusiastic as we are with the science described on this blogs/webinar series. We would like to once again thank Dr. Kaur for presenting her data to our audience.

References:

1. Muscle metaboreflex activation during dynamic exercise evokes epinephrine release resulting in β2-mediated vasodilation. American Journal of Physiology. Heart and Circulatory Physiology, 24 December 2014, 308: H524 - H529.
2. Muscle metaboreflex activation during dynamic exercise vasoconstricts ischemic active skeletal muscle. American Journal of Physiology. Heart and Circulatory Physiology, 15 December 2015, 309: H2145 – H2151.
3. Muscle metaboreflex activation during dynamic exercise vasoconstricts ischemic active skeletal muscle. American Journal of Physiology. Heart and Circulatory Physiology, 22 September 2017, 314: H11 – H18.