title: Petrosal ganglion responses to acetylcholine and ATP are enhanced by chronic normobaric hypoxia in the rabbit.
abstract: In mammals, adaptation to chronic hypoxia requires the integrity of the arterial chemoreceptors, specially the carotid body (CB). Chronic hypoxia increases the sensibility of the CB by acting on the receptor cells, but there is limited information on the effects of chronic hypoxia on the sensory neurons that innervate the CB. Therefore, we studied the responses evoked by ACh and ATP, the main transmitters that generate the chemoafferent activity, on the petrosal ganglion (PG) of rabbits exposed to chronic normobaric hypoxia (CNH) during fourteen days. ATP and ACh increased the activity of PG neurons in a dose-dependent manner, in a similar way than in rabbits not exposed to hypoxia (naïve). However, the duration of the responses were significantly increased by CNH, with the mean maximal responses to ACh and ATP increased by a factor of two and four, respectively. Our results suggest that CNH increases duration of the responses by modifying the expression and/or content of ACh and ATP receptors.
authors: Laboratorio de Fisiología Celular, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile.
authors: Gabriel
authors: G
authors: Icekson
authors: Claudia V
authors: CV
authors: Dominguez
authors: Valentina P
authors: VP
authors: Dedios
authors: Jorge
authors: J
authors: Arroyo
authors: Julio
authors: J
authors: Alcayaga
mesh_terms: D000109:Acetylcholine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000200:Action Potentials / Q000187:drug effects; D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D001835:Body Weight / Q000187:drug effects; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005930:Glossopharyngeal Nerve / Q000166:cytology*; D000860:Hypoxia / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D011817:Rabbits; D011984:Sensory Receptor Cells / Q000187:drug effects*; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D000255:Adenosine Triphosphate; D000109:Acetylcholine
keywords: Afferent neuron; Chemoreflex; Ventilatory control