Immunohistochemical distribution and colocalization of regulatory peptides in the carotid body

Abstract

Current investigations on the immunohistochemical occurrence and co-occurrence of biogenic polypeptides in the mammalian carotid body were reviewed and extended by our own recent findings. The family of chromogranins and related peptides in glomus cells appears to have a widespread interspecies distribution, whereas other peptides investigated occur in a speciesspecific pattern. Immunoreactivity to antisera against opioids, which derive from the proenkephalin sequence, appears to be present in glomus cells of the rabbit, cat, dog, and a shrew. Conversely, glomus cells of pig and guinea pig predominantly are immunoreactive to cleavage products of prodynorphin, which co-occur in some cells with substance P and met-enkephalin-arg-phe, respectively. In the rat and Callithrix jacchus, opioid immunoreactivity is present in nerve fibres but not in glomus cells. Immunoreactivity to other peptides, such as neurotensin, cholecystokinin, neuropeptide Y, and galanin, is found only in one or two particular species. Neurotensin immunolabelling occurs in beagle dog glomus cells, which are known to lack substance P. Cholecystokinin immunoreactivity is present in glomus cells of dog and Callithrix, and co-exists with chromogranin A, neuropeptide Y, and substance P. Substance P appears to exist in both carotid body glomus cells and nerve fibres. Substance P immunoreactivity is present in glomus cells of all species investigated, except dog. Coexistence of substance P and calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) is demonstrated in nerve fibres of the guinea pig carotid body, which originate in the petrosal and jugular ganglia. Other peptides visualized immunohistochemically in mammalian carotid body nerve fibres are vasoactive intestinal peptide and neuropeptide Y. The functional significance of the various peptides present in the carotid body is discussed.

Innervation of the carotid body: Immunohistochemical, denervation, and retrograde tracing studies

“…The jugular ganglion contains few IR neurons (Ichikawa et al, 1991). In the Kameda, 1989, 1990a,b, 1998 Hyme and Kummer, 1989Kummer, 1988Kummer et al, 1989a,b Human Kummer and Habeck, 1991Rat Ichikawa and Helke, 1993Kondo and Yamamoto, 1988Kummer et al, 1989bKusakabe et al, 1998a Chicken Kameda, 1989;1999Rat Finley et al, 1995 Chicken Kameda, 1990a,b, 1999Yamamoto et al, 1989Guinea pig Kummer, 1990Kummer at al., 1989bRat Kondo et al, 1986Kummer at al., 1989bKusakabe et al, 1998a Cat Chen et al, 1986Heym and Kummer, 1989Wharton et al, 1980Chicken Kameda, 1989, 1990a, b, 1998Guinea pig Heym and Kummer, 1989Kummer et al, 1989a1989bHuman Kummer and Habeck, 1991Rabbit Heym and Kummer, 1989Kusakabe et al, 1994Rat Hardebo et al, 1989Helke et al, 1980bJacobowitz and Helke, 1980Kummer et al, 1989bKusakabe et al, 1998a Vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) Cat Wharton et al, 1980Grimes et al, 1995…”

Carotid body and glomus cells distributed in the wall of the common carotid artery in the bird

“…Like neurons and glial cells in the nervous system, glomus cells are immunoreactive for protein gene product (PGP) 9.5, which is a specific marker for neurons, whereas sustentacular cells are immunoreactive for S-100 protein and vimentin, which are markers for glial cells (Kameda, 1996). Immunoreactivity for enkephalin is observed in the carotid body glomus cells of various mammalian species (Wharton et al, 1980;Heym and Kummer, 1989) In avian species as well as mammalian species, fluorescence for monoamines has been demonstrated in glomus cells by using the histochemical fluorescence method (Bennett, 1971;Fontaine, 1973). The glomus cells of the avian carotid body display yellow fluorescence; the major amine present in the cells may be serotonin.…”

Are there gap junctions between chief (glomus, type I) cells in the carotid body chemoreceptor? A review

“…The cytological features of the chief cells are quite similar to the adrenal chromaffin cells and ganglionic small intensely fluorescent (SIF) cells, and indeed the chief cells as well as the chromaffin cells and SIF cells contain various biogenic amines and neuropeptides in the dense-core granules (Heym and Kummer, 1989;Kameda, 1996). This similarity, together with findings from various developmental studies, has lead historically to the concept of classical "Paraganglion" and recently to that of "Paraneurons" (Kohn, 1903;Watzka, 1943;Fujita et al, 1988) and, therefore, the carotid body can be regarded as a secretory organ.…”