title: Morphological changes in the rat carotid body 1, 2, 4, and 8 weeks after the termination of chronically hypocapnic hypoxia.
abstract: Morphological changes in the rat carotid bodies 1, 2, 4, and 8 weeks after the termination of chronically hypocapnic hypoxia (10% O2 for 8 weeks) were examined by means of morphometry and immunohistochemistry. The rat carotid bodies after 8 weeks of hypoxic exposure were enlarged several fold with vascular expansion. The carotid bodies 1 and 2 weeks after the termination of 8 weeks of hypoxic exposure were diminished in size, although their diameter remained larger than the normoxic controls. The expanded vasculature in chronically hypoxic carotid bodies returned to the normoxic control state. In the carotid bodies 1 week after the termination of chronic hypoxia, the density of NPY fibers was remarkably increased and that of VIP fibers was dramatically decreased in comparison with the density in chronically hypoxic carotid bodies. In the carotid bodies 2 and 4 weeks after the termination of hypoxia, the density of SP and CGRP fibers was gradually increased. In the carotid bodies 8 weeks after the termination of hypoxia, the appearance of the carotid body returned to a nearly normoxic state, and the density of SP, CGRP, VIP, and NPY fibers also recovered to that of normoxic controls. These results suggest that the morphological changes in the recovering carotid bodies start at a relatively early period after the termination of chronic hypoxia, and a part of these processes may be under the control of peptidergic innervation.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Anatomy and Physiology, Department of Sport and Medical Science, Kokushikan University, Tokyo. kusakabe@kokushikan.ac.jp
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kusakabe
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hirakawa
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Oikawa
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Matsuda
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kawakami
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Takenaka
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hayashida
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015740:Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide / Q000378:metabolism; D002344:Carotid Body / Q000098:blood supply / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D002908:Chronic Disease; D016857:Hypocapnia / Q000150:complications / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D000860:Hypoxia / Q000150:complications / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D009412:Nerve Fibers / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D009478:Neuropeptide Y / Q000378:metabolism; D010446:Peptide Fragments / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D013373:Substance P / Q000378:metabolism; D013997:Time Factors; D014660:Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D009478:Neuropeptide Y; D010446:Peptide Fragments; C118482:calcitonin gene related peptide (1-7); D013373:Substance P; D014660:Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide; D015740:Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide