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Oxygen sensing in airway chemoreceptors

Nature volume 365, pages 153–155 (1993)Cite this article

Abstract

PULMONARY neuroepithelial bodies, composed of innervated clus-ters of amine- and peptide-containing cells, are widely distributed throughout the airway mucosa of human and animal lungs1–3. Structurally, neuroepithelial bodies resemble chemoreceptors (such as carotid body, taste buds) and are thought to function as hypoxia-sensitive airway sensors4. Evidence for this is indirect, however, and the mechanism of oxygen sensing by these cells is unknown. Here we culture neuroepithelial bodies isolated from rabbit fetal lungs and identify voltage-activated potassium, calcium and sodium currents using the whole-cell patch clamp technique. Upon exposure to hypoxia there is a reversible reduction (25–30%) in the outward potassium current, with no change in inward currents. In addition, we demonstrate the expression of an oxygen-binding protein (b-cytochrome, NADPH oxidase) on the plasma membrane of these cells. The identification of an oxygen-sensing mechanism (namely the presence of an O2-sensitive potassium channel coupled to an O2 sensor protein5) in the cells of pulmonary neuroepithelial bodies indicates that they are transducers of the hypoxia stimulus and hence may function as airway chemoreceptors in the regulation of respiration.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pathology, The Research Institute, Hospital for Sick Children and University of Toronto, 555 University Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, M5G 1X8, Canada

    Charlotte Youngson, Herman Yeger & Ernest Cutz

  2. Department of Biology, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, L8S 4K1, Canada

    Colin Nurse

Authors
  1. Charlotte Youngson
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  2. Colin Nurse
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  3. Herman Yeger
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  4. Ernest Cutz
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Youngson, C., Nurse, C., Yeger, H. et al. Oxygen sensing in airway chemoreceptors. Nature 365, 153–155 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1038/365153a0

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