The carotid body: A novel key player in neuroimmune interactions

Author(s)

Katayama, Pedro L. ; Leirao, Isabela P. ; Kanashiro, Alexandre ; Menani, Jose, V ; Zoccal, Daniel B. ; Colombari, Debora S. A. ; Colombari, Eduardo

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY; v. 13, p. 10-pg., 2022-10-24.

Abstract

The idea that the nervous system communicates with the immune system to regulate physiological and pathological processes is not new. However, there is still much to learn about how these interactions occur under different conditions. The carotid body (CB) is a sensory organ located in the neck, classically known as the primary sensor of the oxygen (O-2) levels in the organism of mammals. When the partial pressure of O-2 in the arterial blood falls, the CB alerts the brain which coordinates cardiorespiratory responses to ensure adequate O(2 )supply to all tissues and organs in the body. A growing body of evidence, however, has demonstrated that the CB is much more than an O-2 sensor. Actually, the CB is a multimodal sensor with the extraordinary ability to detect a wide diversity of circulating molecules in the arterial blood, including inflammatory mediators. In this review, we introduce the literature supporting the role of the CB as a critical component of neuroimmune interactions. Based on ours and other studies, we propose a novel neuroimmune pathway in which the CB acts as a sensor of circulating inflammatory mediators and, in conditions of systemic inflammation, recruits a sympathetic-mediated counteracting mechanism that appears to be a protective response. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 19/11196-0 - Mechanisms and neural circuits involved in the interaction between peripheral inflammation and sympathoexcitation in Renovascular Hypertension
• Grantee: Pedro Lourenço Katayama
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• FAPESP's process: 19/24154-3 - Development of new therapeutic strategies for treatment of cardiovascular diseases
• Grantee: Eduardo Colombari
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• FAPESP's process: 15/23467-7 - Experimental pathophysiology: role of central mechanisms of the cardiovascular and respiratory control changes induced by experimental hypertension and obesity
• Grantee: Eduardo Colombari
• Support Opportunities: Research Projects - Thematic Grants