Plasticity in Cultured Arterial Chemoreceptors: Effects of Chronic Hypoxia and Cyclic AMP Analogs

Exposure of humans and animals to chronic hypoxia causes hypertrophy of the chemosensory carotid body (McGregor et al., 1988), and sensitization of the ventilatory reflex (Barnard et al., 1987; Nielsen et al., 1987). The underlying mechanisms are unclear but are likely to involve the glomus or type 1 cells, which are now generally considered to be the oxygen sensors (Gonzalez et al., 1992). These structural and functional changes may be …