PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

D Spergel

Publications and source records attributed to D Spergel.

11 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1993

Differential modulation by extracellular ATP of carotid chemosensory responses.

The possibility that the carotid body has ATP surface receptors that mediate O2 chemoreception was tested. To distinguish between the event(s) initiating chemoreception and those at the neurotransmitter level, we also tested the chemosensory response to nicotine before and after ATP administration. Carotid bodies from cats anesthetized with pentobarbital sodium were perfused and superfused in vitro with modified Tyrode solution (PCO2 < 1 Torr, pH 7.4, 36 degrees C) equilibrated at PO2 > 400 or approximately 150 Torr while chemosensory discharge was recorded extracellularly. ATP and adenosine 5'-[gamma-thio]triphosphate stimulated discharge with similar dose dependence, whereas adenosine had little effect. ATP infusion for > or = 2 min evoked an initial stimulation of discharge followed by a decline to baseline (desensitization). Desensitization did not affect the response to hypoxia (perfusate flow interruption) but inhibited the response to nicotine (4-nmol pulse). Therefore, 1) the carotid body has surface ATP receptors that may mediate the chemosensory response to nicotine but not to hypoxia and 2) nicotinic receptors are not required for carotid body O2 chemoreception.

Adenosine↗
PubMed1992

Dependence of carotid chemosensory responses on metabolic substrates.

The dependence of the carotid chemosensory response to hypoxia on metabolic substrate and the hypothesis that lactic acidosis is essential for O2 chemoreception were tested. Effects of 3 types of substrate (glucose, glutamate and a mixture of amino acids) on the response to hypoxia (perfusate flow interruption) were measured (n = 33 carotid bodies). The response to nicotine (n = 25) was used to determine whether these effects were exclusive to the hypoxic response. The cat carotid body was perfused and superfused in vitro with modified Tyrode solution (pO2 > 400 Torr, pCO2 < 1 Torr, pH = 7.4) at 36 degrees C containing a given substrate for at least 15 min prior to flow interruption or nicotine injection. Without substrate, responses to flow interruption (n = 4) and nicotine (n = 2) were irreversibly depressed. With glucose, responses to flow interruption (n = 13) and nicotine (n = 8) increased in a concentration-dependent fashion. Glutamate (42 mM) alone (n = 11) or a mixture of amino acids (4.2 mM) plus 5.5 mM glucose (n = 12) substituted for 11 mM glucose (n = 10). Thus, glutamate (42 mM), or a mixture of amino acids (4.2 mM) or a high concentration of glucose (11 mM) can support chemosensory responses to flow interruption and nicotine. Since glutamate undergoes oxidative deamination to alpha-ketoglutarate without lactic acid production, O2 chemoreception does not depend on lactic acidosis.

Amino Acids↗
PubMed1992

Intracellular pH and oxygen chemoreception in the cat carotid body in vitro.

To test the hypothesis that O2 chemoreception in the carotid body (CB) is mediated by cellular acidosis, we simultaneously measured responses of the chemosensory and intracellular pH (pHi) to agents that are known to change pHi and studied the effects of hypoxia and ischemia on these variables in the cat CB. The CB was perfused and superfused in vitro with a modified Tyrode's solution at 36.0 +/- 0.5 degrees C with or without CO2-HCO3- (pH 7.40) and equilibrated at a given PO2. Chemosensory discharges were recorded from the whole carotid sinus nerve. To measure pHi changes, the CB was loaded with the pH-sensitive indicator 2',7'-bis(2-carboxyethyl)-5(6)-carboxyfluorescein, and the fluorescence (excitation 420-490 nm, emission greater than 515 nm) was detected by an intensified charged coupled device camera with an epifluorescence macroscope. Boluses of Tyrode's solution (0.5 ml, free of CO2-HCO3-) containing sodium acetate or NH4Cl prolonged perfusion of acid Tyrode's solution (pH 7.20-6.50), and boluses of Tyrode's solution with CO2-HCO3- were used. A decrease of fluorescence indicated pHi turning acid, and an increase of fluorescence indicated a change in alkaline pHi. Chemosensory activity varied inversely with the fluorescence change after application of these agents. Interruption of perfusate flow or application of hypoxic perfusate resulted in large increases in chemosensory discharge without any change in the fluorescence. The results indicated that chemosensory responses to brief ischemia and hypoxia were not mediated by a fall of pHi of CB cells, whereas those to CO2 and extracellular acidity were associated with decreases in pHi.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Optical measurements of the dependence of chemoreception on oxygen pressure in the cat carotid body.

The relationship between oxygen pressure (PO2) in the carotid body and carotid sinus nerve discharge was evaluated in the isolated perfused/superfused cat carotid body using the oxygen-dependent quenching of phosphorescence. Images of phosphorescence intensity arising from Pd-coproporphyrin within the microcirculation of the carotid body provided measurements of intravascular PO2. These measurements were substantiated by determining phosphorescence life-time. The carotid body was perfused in the isolated state via the common carotid artery with N-2-hydroxyethylpiperazine-N'-2-ethanesulfonic acid-buffered Tyrode solution, pH 7.4, at a constant pressure of 80 mmHg. Superfusion was maintained with similar media equilibrated with 100% argon. PO2 in the exchange vessels was markedly less than that in the perfusate entering the carotid artery, 23 +/- 3 and 45 +/- 3 Torr for normoxic (111 +/- 15 Torr) and hyperoxic (345 +/- 72 Torr) perfusates, respectively. Chemosensory discharge rose slowly in response to a brief interruption of perfusate flow as PO2 steadily declined from either of these capillary PO2 values to approximately 10 Torr. Between approximately 10 and 3 Torr, chemosensory discharge increased strikingly, concomitant with an enhanced rate of oxygen disappearance, from -36 +/- 4 to -69 +/- 13 (92% change) and -28 +/- 3 to -48 +/- 3 (71% change) Torr/s for normoxic and hyperoxic perfusates, respectively. As PO2 fell below approximately 3 Torr, oxygen disappearance slowed and neural activity decayed. Thus the relationships between microvascular PO2 and chemosensory discharge and between oxygen disappearance and neural discharge suggest that oxygen metabolism in the carotid body determines the expression of oxygen chemoreception.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

In vitro perfused-superfused cat carotid body for physiological and pharmacological studies.

An in vitro perfused carotid body preparation was developed to study its chemosensory responses to physiological and pharmacological stimuli. The carotid bifurcation with the carotid body was vascularly isolated and excised from pentobarbital sodium-anesthetized cats. The CB was perfused in a chamber by gravity (80 Torr) with modified Tyrode's solution (N-2-hydroxyethylpiperazine-N'-2-ethanesulfonic acid-NaOH at pH 7.40) equilibrated at a given Po2 and superfused with the same medium at (Po2 of 20 Torr). The temperature was maintained at 35.5 +/- 0.5 degrees C. The frequency of chemosensory discharges (CD) was recorded from the whole carotid sinus nerve (n = 24), and the responses were tested by repeated interruptions of perfusate flow (SF), perfusion with hypoxic medium, and injections of nicotine and cyanide (0.1 nmol to 1 mumol) and hypercapnic medium. During hyperoxic perfusion, SF resulted in a sigmoidal increase in CD, reaching a maximum that was 23.6 +/- 4.4-fold greater than the basal activity. Restoration of flow returned CD promptly to basal values. After normoxic perfusion, SF led to a similar maximal activity more rapidly, but the duration was shorter. Reduction of the perfusate PO2 (Po2 from 450 Torr to 150, 30, and less than 10 Torr) caused a nonlinear increase in CD. CO2 stimuli (PCo2 38-110 Torr) resulted in a linear increase in CD. Nicotine or cyanide increased CD in a dose-dependent manner. The preparation retained its initial responsiveness for 2-3 h, making extensive experimental studies feasible.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗
PubMed1986

Segmental differentiation in the leech nervous system: the genesis of cell number in the segmental ganglia of Haemopis marmorata.

In hirudinid leeches, the segmental ganglia associated with the sexual organs contain several hundred more neurons than other midbody ganglia. To determine whether this difference arises by differential cell addition or by differential cell death, cell counts were made in several segmental ganglia during the course of embryonic and postembryonic development. The results show that all ganglia behave equally in early development. In each case, at least 10-20% more cells than will make up the adult complement of about 400 neurons is generated, and by about 20 days of embryonic development cell loss brings the number down to about 400 cells. By about 30 days, when animals emerge from their cocoons, additional cells have begun to appear in the sex ganglia. The number of extra cells continue to increase gradually over the next several months, until the adult number of 600-700 neurons is attained. These observations indicate that at least some segmental differences in the size of neuronal populations are due to differential cell proliferation and that these differences can arise quite late in the maturation of an animal.

Animals↗
PubMed1984

Prolonged dialyzer reuse.

Clearance of urea, creatinine, phosphate and B12 in dialyzers reused up to 30 times were unchanged from the initial values. Residual formalin values were within acceptable levels and in several thousand dialyses no untoward reactions of any sort attributable to reuse were encountered. Neutropenia was constantly present with dialyzers prepared by automated reuse.

Creatinine↗