Inhibition of Spinal Inflammation Restores Compensatory Plasticity Induced by Recurrent Reductions in Respiratory Neural Activity in Offspring Exposed to Gestational Intermittent Hypoxia

Sleep disordered breathing (SDB) during pregnancy is increasing in parallel with the obesity epidemic, yet the long‐term effects on the adult offspring are unknown. In our animal model of SDB during pregnancy, pregnant rats are exposed to chronic intermittent hypoxia (8 hrs/day, 2 min 10.5% O2 separated by 2 min of 21% O2) or intermittent normoxia from gestational days 10–21. Preliminary data show that adult male (but not female) offspring exposed to gestational intermittent hypoxia (GIH) show deficits in respiratory control that manifest as increased spontaneous central apneas during presumptive sleep and impaired compensatory responses to recurrent reductions in respiratory neural activity, a form of plasticity known as inactivity‐induced inspiratory motor facilitation (iMF). Preliminary data also show that microglia isolated from male GIH offspring show primed inflammatory responses in respiratory control regions. Since neuroinflammation impairs respiratory plasticity, we tested the hypothesis that inhibiting NF‐kappaB and STAT3 inflammatory transcription factor activation restores the capacity to elicit iMF in GIH offspring. Phrenic inspiratory output was measured in urethane‐anesthetized, vagotomized, mechanically ventilated GIH or gestational intermittent normoxia (GNX) offspring. Vehicle or 2‐[(aminocarbonyl)amino]‐5 ‐(4‐fluorophenyl)‐3‐ thiophenecarboxamide (TPCA‐1) was delivered intrathecally over the phrenic motor pool ~1 hour before exposure to recurrent reductions in neural activity (5, ~1 min neural apnea episodes, separated by 5 min). As expected, recurrent neural apnea elicited a significant increase in phrenic inspiratory output in vehicle‐ and TPCA‐treated GNX offspring (54±17% and 62±12% baseline, n=6, 5, respectively, p<0.05) when compared to time controls not receiving activity deprivation (11±4% baseline, n=4). By contrast, recurrent neural apnea did not elicit iMF in vehicle‐treated GIH offspring (25±3%, n=7, p>0.05). However, in GIH offspring receiving intrathecal TPCA‐1, recurrent neural apnea induced a significant increase in phrenic inspiratory output (75+/−10% baseline, n=7, p<0.05), indicating that NF‐kappaB and STAT3 inflammatory transcription factor inhibition rescues the capacity to elicit iMF in GIH offspring. These data indicate that increased neuroinflammation in male GIH offspring impairs the capacity for recurrent reductions in respiratory neural activity to trigger compensatory forms of neuroplasticity. Support or Funding Information Supported by R01HL142752 (JJW and TLB)