Key result
Growing knowledge of receptor cell function at the molecular level needs to be integrated with empirical observations of whole animal responses to cardiorespiratory stimuli.
Highlights the importance of integrating molecular mechanisms of cardiorespiratory receptor cells with whole-animal physiological responses.
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No direct clinical implications from molecular data alone; leaves open optimal integration with whole-animal cardiorespiratory responses.
SYNOPSIS. Research on the sensory inputs regulating ventilation and perfusion in vertebrates has slowly moved from studies of receptor cells to studies of the receptor proteins on receptor cells involved in signal transduction. With this new emphasis and the insights gained from this work, questions arise about the significance of specific transduction mechanisms and their link to whole animal responses to various stimuli. This is illustrated in the present chapter using two examples. The first describes pulmonary mechanoreceptors in identical locations but with different orientations. As a result of the differences in their orientation, although the receptors have identical signal transduction mechanisms and identical roles in terms of the reflex effects they elicit, they respond to different stimuli at the whole animal level. The second example suggests that different populations of O2 sensitive chemoreceptors may exist that have identical signal transduction mechanisms but, because of differences in their balance of oxygen supply to demand, may respond to different stimuli at the whole animal level. The lesson to be learned from these examples is that accompanying the growing knowledge of receptor cell function at the molecular level is a growing need to integrate this knowledge with empirical observations of whole animal responses.
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William K. Milsom (1997) reported a review. Growing knowledge of receptor cell function at the molecular level needs to be integrated with empirical observations of whole animal responses to cardiorespiratory stimuli.
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