title: The Human Carotid Body Gene Expression and Function in Signaling of Hypoxia and Inflammation.
abstract: Although animal carotid body oxygen sensing and signaling has been extensively investigated, the human carotid body remains essentially uncharacterized. Therefore, we aimed to study the human carotid body in terms of morphology, global and specific expression of sensing and signaling genes as well as inflammatory genes. The human carotid body response to brief or prolonged hypoxia was studied in carotid body slices from adult surgical patients and ACh, ATP and cytokine release was analyzed. We demonstrate that the human carotid body expresses key oxygen sensing and signaling genes in similarity with animal carotid bodies with a few diverging data. The human carotid body moreover shows enrichment of genes in the inflammatory response and releases pro and anti-inflammatory cytokines in response to prolonged hypoxia. In response to acute hypoxia the human carotid body releases ACh and ATP and we thus translate previous findings in animal models to human tissue. We conclude that by releasing pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines during hypoxia the human carotid body displays a structural and functional capacity to participate in sensing and mediating systemic inflammation.
authors: Department of Anesthesiology, Surgical Services and Intensive Care Medicine, Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Section for Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, Karolinska University Hospital and Karolinska Institutet, Nanna Svartz Väg 2, 171 77, Stockholm, Sweden, jessica.kahlin@karolinska.se.
authors: Jessica
authors: J
authors: Kåhlin
authors: Souren
authors: S
authors: Mkrtchian
authors: Anette
authors: A
authors: Ebberyd
authors: Lars I
authors: LI
authors: Eriksson
authors: Malin Jonsson
authors: MJ
authors: Fagerlund
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002344:Carotid Body / Q000502:physiology*; D016207:Cytokines / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D000860:Hypoxia / Q000276:immunology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D007249:Inflammation / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010100:Oxygen / Q000378:metabolism; D020181:Sleep Apnea, Obstructive / Q000209:etiology; D059467:Transcriptome
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines; D010100:Oxygen