title: Morphological characteristics and peptidergic innervation in the carotid body of spontaneously hypertensive rats.
abstract: We examined morphological characteristics of the carotid body of spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR), those of age-matched normotensive Wistar rats (NWR), and age-matched genetically comparable Wistar Kyoto rats (WKY). We examined the distribution and abundance of four different regulatory neuropeptides: substance P (SP), calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP), and neuropeptide Y (NPY) in the carotid bodies of these three strains of rats. The carotid bodies of SHR were larger than those of NWR and WKY. The values of the long axis of the carotid bodies of SHR were significantly larger (1.3 times) than those of NWR and WKY. In the carotid bodies of SHR, the percentage of relatively large vessels was similar to that of the carotid bodies of WKY, although the carotid bodies themselves were significantly larger than in WKY. The density of VIP varicose fibers in the carotid bodies of SHR was lower than in the carotid bodies of WKY, although the density of SP, CGRP and NPY fibers was similar to that of the carotid bodies of NWR and WKY. These findings suggested that VIP was unrelated to enlargement of the carotid body of SHR, but it might modify the sensitivity of chemoreceptors in the carotid body.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Yokohama City University School of Medicine, Yokohama, Japan. masa12_1@yokohama-cu.ac.jp
authors.forename: Masahiro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Takahashi
authors.forename: Hideki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Matsuda
authors.forename: Yoshiaki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hayashida
authors.forename: Yoshio
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yamamoto
authors.forename: Mamoru
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tsukuda
authors.forename: Tatsumi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kusakabe
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015740:Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide / Q000378:metabolism; D002344:Carotid Body / Q000473:pathology* / Q000502:physiology*; D004396:Coloring Agents; D004801:Eosine Yellowish-(YS); D006416:Hematoxylin; D006973:Hypertension / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology*; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D009412:Nerve Fibers / Q000378:metabolism; D009478:Neuropeptide Y / Q000378:metabolism; D009479:Neuropeptides / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D051381:Rats; D011918:Rats, Inbred SHR; D011921:Rats, Inbred WKY; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D013045:Species Specificity; D013373:Substance P / Q000378:metabolism; D014446:Tyrosine 3-Monooxygenase / Q000378:metabolism; D014660:Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D004396:Coloring Agents; D009478:Neuropeptide Y; D009479:Neuropeptides; D013373:Substance P; D014660:Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide; D014446:Tyrosine 3-Monooxygenase; D015740:Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide; D004801:Eosine Yellowish-(YS); D006416:Hematoxylin