Effects of chemostimuli on [Ca2+]i responses of rat aortic body type I cells and endogenous local neurons: comparison with carotid body cells

Mammalian aortic bodies (ABs) are putative peripheral arterial chemoreceptors whose function remains controversial, partly because information on their cellular physiology is lacking. In this study, we used ratiometric Ca2+ imaging to investigate for the first time chemosensitivity in short-term cultures of dissociated cells of juvenile rat ABs, located near the junction of the left vagus and recurrent laryngeal nerves. Among the surviving cell …