Fig. 1
From: Asthmatic allergen inhalation sensitises carotid bodies to lysophosphatidic acid
Asthmatic BN rats have increased carotid body sensitivity to LPA. a The ovalbumin sensitisation protocol where Brown Norway rats were sensitised (days 1-3) and exposed to aerosolised allergen (days 15, 18, 21) and experiments run 3 h after the last aerosolisation. The en bloc perfused carotid body preparation used to record chemosensory afferents in the carotid sinus nerve (CSN, a). OVA rats (b) had increased sensitivity to 5 and 10 μM LPA compared to naïve BN rats (c). d The increase in CSN activity in response to doubling doses of LPA, (2.5, 5, 10 μM, 18:1 LPA) in ovalbumin sensitised and challenged (OVA) and naïve Brown Norway (BN) rats. F1,14 (group) = 10.077, p = 0.007; F2,28 (dose) = 28.430, p < 0.001; F3,63 (groups × LPA dose) =4.469, p = 0.021; post hoc (difference between groups): 2.5 μM, p = 0.227; 5 μM, p = 0.025; 10 μM, p < 0.001. Hx = hypoxia test of viability. e The hypoxic response was similar between OVA (n = 8) and naïve (n = 8) BN rats. When comparing to hypoxic responses from carotid bodies harvested from Sprague Dawley rats (n = 6), no difference was difference between rat strain or health status. F2,19 = 1.672, p = 0.214