Does endogenous 5-HT mediate spontaneous rhythmic activity in chemoreceptor clusters of rat carotid body?
Spontaneous voltage fluctuations often occurred during perforated-patch recordings from clustered rat carotid body (CB) chemoreceptors in vitro. This activity sometimes appeared as rhythmic-like spikes, when cluster size exceeded approximately 20 cells. Spike discharge could be augmented or induced by hypoxia or 5-HT (2-10 microM) application, and inhibited by the 5-HT receptor blocker, ketanserin (50-100 microM). Thus, endogenous 5-HT may contribute to spontaneous firing within CB receptor clusters via autocrine/paracrine mechanisms.
Department of Biology, McMaster University, 1280 Main St. W., L8S 4K1, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
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D000200:Action Potentials / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D019898:Autocrine Communication / Q000502:physiology; D002344:Carotid Body / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D015687:Cell Hypoxia / Q000502:physiology; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002628:Chemoreceptor Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D007650:Ketanserin / Q000494:pharmacology; D019899:Paracrine Communication / Q000502:physiology; D018408:Patch-Clamp Techniques; D010507:Periodicity; D051381:Rats; D012701:Serotonin / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000494:pharmacology; D012702:Serotonin Antagonists / Q000494:pharmacology
D012702:Serotonin Antagonists; D012701:Serotonin; D007650:Ketanserin