title: Relevance of the Carotid Body Chemoreflex in the Progression of Heart Failure.
abstract: Chronic heart failure (CHF) is a global health problem affecting millions of people. Autonomic dysfunction and disordered breathing patterns are commonly observed in patients with CHF, and both are strongly related to poor prognosis and high mortality risk. Tonic activation of carotid body (CB) chemoreceptors contributes to sympathoexcitation and disordered breathing patterns in experimental models of CHF. Recent studies show that ablation of the CB chemoreceptors improves autonomic function and breathing control in CHF and improves survival. These exciting findings indicate that alterations in CB function are critical to the progression of CHF. Therefore, better understanding of the physiology of the CB chemoreflex in CHF could lead to improvements in current treatments and clinical management of patients with CHF characterized by high chemosensitivity. Accordingly, the main focus of this brief review is to summarize current knowledge of CB chemoreflex function in different experimental models of CHF and to comment on their potential translation to treatment of human CHF.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Cardiorespiratory Control, Center of Biomedical Research, Universidad Autónoma de Chile, 8900000 Santiago, Chile.
authors.forename: David C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Andrade
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Cardiorespiratory Control, Center of Biomedical Research, Universidad Autónoma de Chile, 8900000 Santiago, Chile.
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lucero
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Cardiorespiratory Control, Center of Biomedical Research, Universidad Autónoma de Chile, 8900000 Santiago, Chile.
authors.forename: Camilo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Toledo
authors.affiliation: Centro de Fisiología Celular e Integrativa, Clínica Alemana-Universidad del Desarrollo, 7500000 Santiago, Chile.
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Madrid
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Des Moines University, Des Moines, IA 50312, USA.
authors.forename: Noah J
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Marcus
authors.affiliation: Department of Cellular & Integrative Physiology, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198, USA.
authors.forename: Harold D
authors.initials: HD
authors.lastname: Schultz
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Cardiorespiratory Control, Center of Biomedical Research, Universidad Autónoma de Chile, 8900000 Santiago, Chile; Dirección de Investigación, Universidad Científica del Sur, Lima 15067, Peru.
authors.forename: Rodrigo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Del Rio
mesh_terms: D002344:Carotid Body / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002628:Chemoreceptor Cells / Q000473:pathology; D018450:Disease Progression; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D012018:Reflex; D012119:Respiration; D013564:Sympathetic Nervous System / Q000503:physiopathology*