Basic FGF localization in rat carotid body: paracrine role in O2 -chemoreceptor survival

Growth Factors in the Carotid Body-An Update

The carotid body may undergo plasticity changes during development/ageing and in response to environmental (hypoxia and hyperoxia), metabolic, and inflammatory stimuli. The different cell types of the carotid body express a wide series of growth factors and corresponding receptors, which play a role in the modulation of carotid body function and plasticity. In particular, type I cells express nerve growth factor, brain-derived neurotrophic factor, neurotrophin 3, glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor, ciliary neurotrophic factor, insulin-like-growth factor-I and -II, basic fibroblast growth factor, epidermal growth factor, transforming growth factor-α and -β, interleukin-1β and -6, tumor necrosis factor-α, vascular endothelial growth factor, and endothelin-1. Many specific growth factor receptors have been identified in type I cells, indicating autocrine/paracrine effects. Type II cells may also produce growth factors and express corresponding receptors. Future research will have to consider growth factors in further experimental models of cardiovascular, metabolic, and inflammatory diseases and in human (normal and pathologic) samples. From a methodological point of view, microarray and/or proteomic approaches would permit contemporary analyses of large groups of growth factors. The eventual identification of physical interactions between receptors of different growth factors and/or neuromodulators could also add insights regarding functional interactions between different trophic mechanisms.

Receptor-Receptor Interactions of G Protein-Coupled Receptors in the Carotid Body: A Working Hypothesis

In the carotid body (CB), a wide series of neurotransmitters and neuromodulators have been identified. They are mainly produced and released by type I cells and act on many different ionotropic and metabotropic receptors located in afferent nerve fibers, type I and II cells. Most metabotropic receptors are G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). In other transfected or native cells, GPCRs have been demonstrated to establish physical receptor–receptor interactions (RRIs) with formation of homo/hetero-complexes (dimers or receptor mosaics) in a dynamic monomer/oligomer equilibrium. RRIs modulate ligand binding, signaling, and internalization of GPCR protomers and they are considered of relevance for physiology, pharmacology, and pathology of the nervous system. We hypothesize that RRI may also occur in the different structural elements of the CB (type I cells, type II cells, and afferent fibers), with potential implications in chemoreception, neuromodulation, and tissue plasticity. This ‘working hypothesis’ is supported by literature data reporting the contemporary expression, in type I cells, type II cells, or afferent terminals, of GPCRs which are able to physically interact with each other to form homo/hetero-complexes. Functional data about cross-talks in the CB between different neurotransmitters/neuromodulators also support the hypothesis. On the basis of the above findings, the most significant homo/hetero-complexes which could be postulated in the CB include receptors for dopamine, adenosine, ATP, opioids, histamine, serotonin, endothelin, galanin, GABA, cannabinoids, angiotensin, neurotensin, and melatonin. From a methodological point of view, future studies should demonstrate the colocalization in close proximity (less than 10 nm) of the above receptors, through biophysical (i.e., bioluminescence/fluorescence resonance energy transfer, protein-fragment complementation assay, total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy, fluorescence correlation spectroscopy and photoactivated localization microscopy, X-ray crystallography) or biochemical (co-immunoprecipitation, in situ proximity ligation assay) methods. Moreover, functional approaches will be able to show if ligand binding to one receptor produces changes in the biochemical characteristics (ligand recognition, decoding, and trafficking processes) of the other(s). Plasticity aspects would be also of interest, as development and environmental stimuli (chronic continuous or intermittent hypoxia) produce changes in the expression of certain receptors which could potentially invest the dynamic monomer/oligomer equilibrium of homo/hetero-complexes and the correlated functional implications.

Chronic hyperoxia alters the expression of neurotrophic factors in the carotid body of neonatal rats

Chronic exposure to hyperoxia alters the postnatal development and innervation of the rat carotid body. We hypothesized that this plasticity is related to changes in the expression of neurotrophic factors or related proteins. Rats were reared in 60% O(2) from 24 to 36h prior to birth until studied at 3d of age (P3). Protein levels for brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) were significantly reduced (-70%) in the P3 carotid body, while protein levels for its receptor, tyrosine kinase B, and for glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) were unchanged. Transcript levels in the carotid body were downregulated for the GDNF receptor Ret (-34%) and the neuropeptide Vgf (-67%), upregulated for Cbln1 (+205%), and unchanged for Fgf2; protein levels were not quantified for these genes. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed that Vgf and Cbln1 proteins are expressed within the carotid body glomus cells. These data suggest that BDNF, and perhaps other neurotrophic factors, contribute to abnormal carotid body function following perinatal hyperoxia.

Sustained hypoxia-induced proliferation of carotid body type I cells in rats

Sustained hypoxia (SH) has been shown to cause profound morphological and cellular changes in carotid body (CB). However, results regarding whether SH causes CB type I cell proliferation are conflicting. By using bromodeoxyuridine, a uridine analog that is stably incorporated into cells undergoing DNA synthesis, we have found that SH causes the type I cell proliferation in the CB; the proliferation occurs mainly during the first 1–3 days of hypoxic exposure. Moreover, the new cells survive for at least 1 mo after the return to normoxia. Also, SH does not cause any cell death in CB as examined by the terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP-X nick-end labeling assay. Taken together, our results suggest that SH stimulates CB type I cell proliferation, which may produce long-lasting changes in CB morphology and function.

Immunohistochemical characterization of the rat carotid body

We studied the histochemical phenotype of carotid body (CB) cells in the adult rat. In addition to tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), type I cells expressed numerous growth factors such as glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF), basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF), insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I), epidermal growth factor (EGF) and transforming growth factor-alpha (TGF-alpha), as well as the receptors p75, Ret, epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and platelet-derived growth factor receptor-alpha (PDGFR-alpha). Type II cells expressed the glial fibrillary acid protein (GFAP), vimentin, the trophic factor bFGF and receptors p75, EGFR and PDGFR-alpha. Both types I and II cells exhibited a positive immunoreaction to markers of neural progenitor cells such as the polysialylated form of the neural cell adhesion molecule (PSA-NCAM) and nestin, respectively, suggesting that CB contain some immature cells even at the adult stage. The possibility that these cells can be expanded and differentiated into mature neurons should be explored.

Glia-like stem cells sustain physiologic neurogenesis in the adult mammalian carotid body

Neurogenesis is known to occur in the specific niches of the adult mammalian brain, but whether germinal centers exist in the neural-crest-derived peripheral nervous system is unknown. We have discovered stem cells in the adult carotid body (CB), an oxygen-sensing organ of the sympathoadrenal lineage that grows in chronic hypoxemia. Production of new neuron-like CB glomus cells depends on a population of stem cells, which form multipotent and self-renewing colonies in vitro. Cell fate mapping experiments indicate that, unexpectedly, CB stem cells are the glia-like sustentacular cells and can be identified using glial markers. Remarkably, stem cell-derived glomus cells have the same complex chemosensory properties as mature in situ glomus cells. They are highly dopaminergic and produce glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor. Thus, the mammalian CB is a neurogenic center with a recognizable physiological function in adult life. CB stem cells could be potentially useful for antiparkinsonian cell therapy.

Trophic factors in the carotid body

The aim of the present study is to provide a review of the expression and action of trophic factors in the carotid body. In glomic type I cells, the following factors have been identified: brain-derived neurotrophic factor, glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor, artemin, ciliary neurotrophic factor, insulin-like growth factors-I and -II, basic fibroblast growth factor, epidermal growth factor, transforming growth factor-alpha and -beta1, interleukin-1beta and -6, tumour necrosis factor-alpha, vascular endothelial growth factor, and endothelin-1 (ET-1). Growth factor receptors in the above cells include p75LNGFR, TrkA, TrkB, RET, GDNF family receptors alpha1-3, gp130, IL-6Ralpha, EGFR, FGFR1, IL1-RI, TNF-RI, VEGFR-1 and -2, ETA and ETB receptors, and PDGFR-alpha. Differential local expression of growth factors and corresponding receptors plays a role in pre- and postnatal development of the carotid body. Their local actions contribute toward producing the morphologic and molecular changes associated with chronic hypoxia and/or hypertension, such as cellular hyperplasia, extracellular matrix expansion, changes in channel densities, and neurotransmitter patterns. Neurotrophic factor production is also considered to play a key role in the therapeutic effects of intracerebral carotid body grafts in Parkinson's disease. Future research should also focus on trophic actions on carotid body type I cells by peptide neuromodulators, which are known to be present in the carotid body and to show trophic effects on other cell populations, that is, angiotensin II, adrenomedullin, bombesin, calcitonin, calcitonin gene-related peptide, cholecystokinin, erythropoietin, galanin, opioids, pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide, atrial natriuretic peptide, somatostatin, tachykinins, neuropeptide Y, neurotensin, and vasoactive intestinal peptide.

Modification of the number and phenotype of striatal dopaminergic cells by carotid body graft

In non-human primates, striatal tyrosine hydroxylase-immunoreactive (TH-ir) cells are increased in number after dopamine depletion and in response to trophic factor delivery. As carotid body cells contain the dopaminotrophic glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF), we evaluated the number, morphology and neurochemistry of these TH-ir cells, in the anterior and posterior striatum of five monkeys treated with 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) which received a graft of carotid body cell aggregates (CBCA) (n = 3) or sham surgery (n = 2), and six MPTP-monkeys that were sacrificed 6 months and 3 years after the last MPTP dose [MPTP I (n = 3) and MPTP II (n = 3), respectively]. Three intact monkeys served as controls. A disability rating scale was used for the assessment of parkinsonism in all lesioned animals, both before and after surgery. For the neurochemical examination, tissue sections were double-labelled with antibodies to TH, dopamine transporter, dopa decarboxylase-67, vesicular monoamine transporter 2, glutamic acid decarboxylase -67, calbindin, parvalbumin, calretinin, neuronal nitric oxide synthase and GDNF. Only animals receiving CBCA graft showed a moderate but significant recovery of parkinsonism that persisted 12 months after the graft. The grafted striatum contained the greatest TH-ir cell density (120.4 +/- 10.3 cells/100 mm2), while the control striatum displayed the lowest (15.4 +/- 6.8 cells/100 mm2), and MPTP I, MPTP II and sham-operated monkeys showed a similar intermediate value (66.1 +/- 6.2, 58.3 +/- 17.2 and 57.7 +/- 7.0 cells/100 mm2, respectively). In addition, in the post-commissural striatum, only CBCA graft induced a significant increase in the TH-ir cell density compared to control animals (47.9 +/- 15.9 and 7.9 +/- 3.2, respectively). Phenotypically, TH-ir cells were striatal dopaminergic interneurons. However, in the grafted animals, the phenotype was different from that in control, MPTP and sham-operated monkeys, with the appearance of TH/GDNF-ir cells and the emergence of two TH-ir subpopulations of different size as the two main differentiating features. Our data confirm and extend previous studies demonstrating that striatal CBCA grafts produce a long-lasting motor recovery of MPTP-monkeys along with an increase in the number and phenotype changes of the striatal TH-ir interneurons, probably by the action of the trophic factors contained in carotid body cells. The increased number of striatal TH-ir cells observed in the grafted striatum may contribute to the improvement of parkinsonism observed after the graft.

Basic fibroblast growth factor and fibroblastic growth factor receptor-1 may contribute to head and neck paraganglioma development by an autocrine or paracrine mechanism

Paragangliomas are hypervascular tumors arising from neural crest-derived paraganglia that are associated with the autonomic nerve system. Mutations in genes coding for subunits of mitochondrial complex II are associated with hereditary paragangliomas, and it has been suggested that these mutations result in a pseudohypoxic signal triggering tumorigenesis. Fibroblastic growth factors are hypoxia-inducible angiogenic stimuli that are involved in the angiogenesis and tumorigenesis of several neoplasms. It has been demonstrated that basic fibroblastic growth factor (bFGF) is a survival factor for cultured chief cells of the carotid body, capable of inducing proliferation. To examine the role of this growth factor in paragangliomas, we studied the immunohistochemical expression of bFGF and its high affinity receptor fibroblastic growth factor receptor 1 (FGFR1) in 7 normal carotid bodies and in 33 head and neck paragangliomas, including 2 malignant cases and their metastases. Immunohistochemical expression of bFGF and FGFR1 in tumors was confirmed by real-time polymerase chain reaction. FGFR1 was moderately present in carotid bodies, and there was strong and significantly enhanced cytoplasmatic staining of FGFR1 in all paragangliomas. Chief cells in carotid bodies and tumors showed strong cytoplasmatic staining for bFGF. The results indicate that FGFR1 and bFGF may contribute to the development of head and neck paragangliomas.

Carotid body chemoreceptors in dissociated cell culture

Carotid body (CB) glomus or type 1 cells act as peripheral chemoreceptors which detect changes in arterial PO(2), PCO(2), and pH and help maintain homeostasis via the reflex control of ventilation. Over the last approximately 12 years significant progress has been made towards understanding chemotransduction mechanisms using freshly isolated or cultured type 1 cells. The latter preparation allows several powerful experimental manipulations (e.g., co-culture with sensory neurons) resulting in significant advances in our understanding of CB chemoreception. Here, we review several properties of type 1 cells after several days to weeks in culture. Typically, cultured type 1 cells grow in monolayer clusters enveloped by glial-like, type II, or sustentacular cells, which are immunopositive for the glial marker, glial fibrillary acid protein (GFAP). These cells can undergo DNA synthesis, evidenced by uptake of bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU), and show a limited capacity for cell division. Mitosis and survival of type 1 cells can be regulated by oxygen tension and/or growth factors (e.g., bFGF, insulin). In the rat, type 1 cells are immunopositive for several monoaminergic markers, including tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), dopamine transporter (DAT), and 5-HT. They also express cholinergic markers (e.g., vesicular acetylcholine transporter; VAChT), the highly conserved synaptic vesicle protein (SV2), and gap junctional proteins including Connexin 32 (Cx32). Moreover, in long-term culture ( approximately 2 weeks) they retain expression of O(2)-sensitive, TASK-1-like, and Ca(2+)-dependent (BK), K(+) channels as revealed by immunocytochemistry or RT-PCR analysis of mRNA extracted from type 1 clusters after removal from the culture surface.