SUN-251 The Effects of Unilateral Vagotomy in Female Rats with Blockade of the Muscarinic System of the Suprachiasmatic Nucleus on Ovulation and Estradiol Serum Levels

Several studies show that the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) participates in the regulation of the functions of various endocrine organs through multisynaptic nerve pathways. Some of these pathways communicate the SCN with the dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus and the nucleus of the solitary tract, which are part of the origin of the vagus nerve (1). Previously we demonstrated that atropine (ATR) microinjection in the right SCN on the day of the proestrus, blocks ovulation, while the same treatment in the left SCN does it partially (2). In the present study we analyzed the possibility that the vagus nerve is one of the neural ways by which the SCN regulates the secretion of estradiol (E2) in the proestrus and subsequent ovulation. For this, cyclic rats were anesthetized with ketamine-xylazine at 09.00 of the day of the proestrus. The animals were randomly assigned to one of the following groups: rats with ATR (62.5 ng diluted in 0.3 µl of saline) microinjection in the right or left SCN, followed by ventral laparotomy or ipsilateral vagotomy to the microinjection side. The animals were sacrificed 5 h after surgery, and estradiol (E(2)) levels were measured. Other groups of animals with the same treatments were sacrificed 24 hours after surgery, and ovulation rate and number of ova shed were evaluated. The left vagus section did not modify the effects of ATR microinjection in the left SCN on ovulatory rate (2/5 vs. 4/7) and E(2) secretion (46.6±9.0 vs. 51.3±9.0, pg/ml). In animals with ATR microinjection in the right SCN, the right vagus section increased the rate of ovulating animals (6/8 vs. 2/9, p <0.0001, Fisher’s exact probability test) and E(2) levels (51.8±9.4 vs. 22.4 ± 4.0, p <0.05, two-way ANOVA, followed by Tukey’s multiple comparison test). Present results suggest that the right vagus nerve plays a role in the multisynaptic communication between the right SCN and the right ovary, while the left vagus does not. Reference: (1) Travagli, R. A. J. Physiol. 2007 Jul 15:582(Pt 2):471. (2) Vieyra et al., Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology. 2016 Jun 16 14(1):34, 1-11.Supported by CONACyT 236908; DGAPA-PAPIIT IN216519