Oxygen sensing in airway chemoreceptors

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 …