Chemoreception of environmental stimuli is a major sensory system in small soil nematodes like C. elegans. As in other animals, chemoreception is mediated in C. elegans by members of the seven-transmembrane G-protein-coupled receptor class (7TM GPCRs). We summarize the many large putative chemoreceptor gene families, including the str family (which includes odr-10, the only receptor with an ide...

Bacterial chemoreceptors organize into large clusters at the cell poles. Despite a wealth of structural and biochemical information on the system's components, it is not clear how chemoreceptor clusters are reliably targeted to the cell pole. Here, we quantify the curvature-dependent localization of chemoreceptors in live cells by artificially deforming growing cells of Escherichia coli in curv...

Baroreceptor mean arterial blood pressure—heart period curves were obtained for unanesthetized sham-operated, thalamic, or pontine rabbits at an arterial Po2 of 100 or 30 mm Hg. Each curve was S-shaped: it had a lower heart period plateau below threshold pressure, a part where heart period increased monotonically with rising mean arterial blood pressure, and an upper heart period plateau above ...

Bacterial chemotaxis signaling is triggered by binding of chemo-effectors to the membrane-bound chemoreceptor dimers. Though much is known about the structure of the chemoreceptors, details of the receptor dynamics and their effects on signaling are still unclear. Here, by using molecular dynamics simulations and principle component analysis, we study the dynamics of the periplasmic domain of a...

Almitrine is a drug used in the treatment of hypoxemic chronic lung diseases such as bronchitis and emphysema because it is a potent stimulant of the carotid bodies in human and different animal species that produces a long-lasting enhancement of alveolar ventilation, ameliorating arterial blood gases. However, the mechanism of action of almitrine remains unknown. We investigated the effect of ...

Forty-two neurons that responded to electrical stimulation of at least one of four nerves, the chorda tympani (CT), the lingual-tonsillar branch of the glossopharyngeal (LT-IXth) nerve, the pharyngeal branch of the glossopharyngeal (PH-IXth) nerve and the superior laryngeal (SL) nerve, were identified from the insular cortex by using glass microelectrodes in paralysed and anesthetized rats. Fou...

Chemoreceptor cells of the carotid bodies (CB) are activated by hypoxia and acidosis, responding with an increase in their rate of neurotransmitter release, which in turn increases the electrical activity in the carotid sinus nerve and evokes a homeostatic hyperventilation. Studies in isolated chemoreceptor cells have shown that moderate hypoxias ( 46 mmHg) produces smaller depolarisations and ...

The aim of our study was to check the responsiveness the chemoreceptor reflex in 28 young mildly hypertensive men (HTS), aged 18-32 years and 25 normotensive male subjects (NTS) aged 19-32 years, before and after 3-months dynamic exercise training. We tested the hypothesis that dynamic training reduces arterial chemoreceptor drive in mild hypertension. Circulatory response to 3-min hyperoxic in...