Acute O2 Sensing: Role of Coenzyme QH2/Q Ratio and Mitochondrial ROS Compartmentalization.

Acute O2 sensing by peripheral chemoreceptors is essential for mammalian homeostasis. Carotid body glomus cells contain O2-sensitive ion channels, which trigger fast adaptive cardiorespiratory reflexes in response to hypoxia. O2-sensitive cells have unique metabolic characteristics that favor the hypoxic generation of mitochondrial complex I (MCI) signaling molecules, NADH and reactive oxygen species (ROS), which modulate membrane ion channels. We show that responsiveness to hypoxia progressively disappears after inducible deletion of the Ndufs2 gene, which encodes the 49 kDa subunit forming the coenzyme Q binding site in MCI, even in the presence of MCII substrates and chemical NAD+ regeneration. We also show contrasting effects of physiological hypoxia on mitochondrial ROS production (increased in the intermembrane space and decreased in the matrix) and a marked effect of succinate dehydrogenase activity on acute O2 sensing. Our results suggest that acute responsiveness to hypoxia depends on coenzyme QH2/Q ratio-controlled ROS production in MCI.

Oxygen sensing by the carotid body: mechanisms and role in adaptation to hypoxia.

Oxygen (O2) is fundamental for cell and whole-body homeostasis. Our understanding of the adaptive processes that take place in response to a lack of O2(hypoxia) has progressed significantly in recent years. The carotid body (CB) is the main arterial chemoreceptor that mediates the acute cardiorespiratory reflexes (hyperventilation and sympathetic activation) triggered by hypoxia. The CB is composed of clusters of cells (glomeruli) in close contact with blood vessels and nerve fibers. Glomus cells, the O2-sensitive elements in the CB, are neuron-like cells that contain O2-sensitive K(+)channels, which are inhibited by hypoxia. This leads to cell depolarization, Ca(2+)entry, and the release of transmitters to activate sensory fibers terminating at the respiratory center. The mechanism whereby O2modulates K(+)channels has remained elusive, although several appealing hypotheses have been postulated. Recent data suggest that mitochondria complex I signaling to membrane K(+)channels plays a fundamental role in acute O2sensing. CB activation during exposure to low Po2is also necessary for acclimatization to chronic hypoxia. CB growth during sustained hypoxia depends on the activation of a resident population of stem cells, which are also activated by transmitters released from the O2-sensitive glomus cells. These advances should foster further studies on the role of CB dysfunction in the pathogenesis of highly prevalent human diseases.

Oxygen-sensing by arterial chemoreceptors: Mechanisms and medical translation.

Acute O2 sensing is necessary for the activation of cardiorespiratory reflexes (hyperventilation and sympathetic activation), which permit the survival of individuals under hypoxic environments (e.g. high altitude) or medical conditions presenting with reduced capacity for gas exchange between the lung alveoli and the blood. Changes in blood O2 tension are detected by the arterial chemoreceptors, in particular the carotid body (CB), which act in concert with the adrenal medulla (AM) to facilitate rapid adaptations to hypoxia. The field of arterial chemoreception has undergone a considerable expansion in recent years, with many of the fundamental observations made at the molecular and cellular levels serving to improve our understanding of the pathogenesis of numerous medical disorders, and even to propose advances in the treatment strategies. In this review, after a short historical preface, we describe the current model of chemosensory transduction based on the modulation of membrane K(+) channels by O2 in specialized chemoreceptor cells. Recent progress in elucidating the molecular mechanisms underlying the modulation of ion channels by O2 tension, which involves mitochondrial complex I, is also discussed. The discovery in the last few years of a specific population of neural crest-derived stem cells in the CB explains the reversible growth of this organ, an intriguing and unusual property of this type of neuronal tissue that contributes to acclimatization under chronic hypoxia. The essential homeostatic role of the CB-AM axis is clearly evident in newly generated mouse models that reach adulthood, albeit with CB and AM atrophy. These animals exhibit a marked intolerance to even mild hypoxia. CB inhibition or over-activation can have important medical consequences. Respiratory depression by general anesthetics or by opioid use is a common clinical condition that frequently causes death in susceptible individuals. An exaggerated sympathetic outflow due to over-activation of the CB-AM axis may contribute to the pathogenesis of several highly prevalent medical conditions, such as chronic heart failure, obstructive sleep apnea, obesity, metabolic syndrome, and diabetes. A detailed understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying acute O2 sensing may help in the design of more efficient therapeutic approaches to combat these disorders.

Oxygen Sensing by Arterial Chemoreceptors Depends on Mitochondrial Complex I Signaling.

O2 sensing is essential for mammalian homeostasis. Peripheral chemoreceptors such as the carotid body (CB) contain cells with O2-sensitive K(+) channels, which are inhibited by hypoxia to trigger fast adaptive cardiorespiratory reflexes. How variations of O2 tension (PO2) are detected and the mechanisms whereby these changes are conveyed to membrane ion channels have remained elusive. We have studied acute O2 sensing in conditional knockout mice lacking mitochondrial complex I (MCI) genes. We inactivated Ndufs2, which encodes a protein that participates in ubiquinone binding. Ndufs2-null mice lose the hyperventilatory response to hypoxia, although they respond to hypercapnia. Ndufs2-deficient CB cells have normal functions and ATP content but are insensitive to changes in PO2. Our data suggest that chemoreceptor cells have a specialized succinate-dependent metabolism that induces an MCI state during hypoxia, characterized by the production of reactive oxygen species and accumulation of reduced pyridine nucleotides, which signal neighboring K(+) channels.