Control Of Breathing I: Chemical Mechanisms

pediagenosis    November 05, 2018    Health , Respiratory , science    Comment   

Control Of Breathing I: Chemical Mechanisms

Chemical control of ventilation is mediated via central and peripheral chemoreceptors, which detect arterial Pco₂ and pH (central and peripheral) and Po₂ (peripheral only), and modulate ventilation via a distributed network of neurones in the brainstem (Chapter 12). Pco₂ is the most important factor. The chemoreceptors allow arterial Pco₂ and Po₂ to be maintained within narrow limits despite large changes in metabolism (e.g. exercise), although ventilation in exercise is also affected by other factors (Chapter 15).

Ventilatory response to changes in

P_Aco₂ and P_Ao₂

Normal alveolar Pco₂ (P_Aco₂) is approximately 5.3 kPa (40 mmHg). Increasing P_Aco₂ causes minute ventilation (litres ventilated per minute) to rise in an almost linear fashion (Fig. 11a), by approximately 15-25 L/min for each kPa rise in P_Aco₂ ( 2.7 L/min per mmHg). There is considerable variation between individuals, and athletes and patients with chronic respiratory disease often have a reduced response to P_Aco₂ (Chapters 26 and 44). If P_Aco₂ increases above 10 kPa, ventilation decreases due to direct suppression of central respiratory neurones. A metabolic acidosis (an increase in [H+] caused by reduced

[HC0₃−]; see Chapter 10) shifts the C0₂-ventilation response curve to the left, whereas a metabolic alkalosis shifts it to the right (Fig. 11a). Note that a rise in [H+] caused by increased Pco₂ is called a respiratory acidosis. Increasing P_Ao₂ from the normal value of approximately 13 kPa (∼100 mmHg) has little effect on the C0₂-ventilation response curve, but if the P_Ao₂ is reduced, the slope of the relationship becomes steeper and ventilation increases more for any given rise in P_Aco₂ (Fig. 11b). When the effect of P_Aco₂ is investigated independently (at constant P_Aco₂), there is little increase in ventilation until the P_Ao₂ falls below approximately 8 kPa (∼60 mmHg) (Fig. 11c). The effect of reducing P_Ao₂ is however potentiated if the P_Aco₂ is raised - i.e. there is a synergistic (more than additive) relationship between the effects of P_Ao₂ and P_Aco₂.

The central chemoreceptor

The central chemoreceptor consists of a diffuse collection of neurones located near the ventrolateral surface of the medulla, close to the exit of IX and X cranial nerves (Fig. 11d). These are sensitive to the pH of the surrounding cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and do not respond to Po₂. CSF is separated from blood by the blood–brain barrier, a tight endothelial layer lining the blood vessels of the brain. This barrier is impermeable to polar (charged) molecules such as H+ and HC0₃−, but

C0₂ can diffuse across it easily. The pH of CSF is therefore determined by the arterial Pco₂ and the CSF [HC0₃−] (Chapter 10), and is not directly affected by changes in blood pH (Fig. 11e). CSF contains little protein, so its buffering capacity is low; therefore, a small change in Pco₂ will cause a large change in pH. Stimulation of the central chemoreceptor by a fall in CSF pH (rise in blood Pco₂) causes an increase in ventilation. The central chemoreceptor is thought to be responsible for approximately 80% of the response to C0₂ in humans.

It has a relatively slow response time ( 20 seconds), as C0₂ has to diffuse across the blood-brain barrier.

The peripheral chemoreceptors

The peripheral chemoreceptors are within the carotid and aortic bodies. The carotid body is a small ( 2 mg) structure located at the bifurcation of the common carotid artery, just above the carotid sinus. It is innervated by the carotid sinus nerve, leading to the glossopharyngeal (Fig. 11f). The aortic bodies are distributed around the aortic arch and are innervated by the vagus. In humans, they are much less important than carotid bodies. The carotid body contains glomus (type I) cells and sheath (type II) cells (Fig. 11g). Glomus cells are responsible for chemoreception; they have dense granules containing neurotransmitters and contact axons of the carotid sinus nerve. The function of sheath cells may be to protect and support the glomus cells, analogous to glial cells in the central nervous system.

Carotid bodies respond to increased Pco₂ or [H⁺] and decreased

Po₂ (not blood 0₂ content) by increasing firin rate in the carotid sinus nerve, and thus ventilation. They have a high blood flow and consequently a small arteriovenous difference for Pco₂ and Po₂. They respond rapidly (seconds) and are sufficiently fast to detect small oscillations in blood gases associated with breathing. The mechanisms by which changes in Pco₂, pH and Po₂ are detected are not fully un- derstood, but are believed to involve inhibition of K⁺ channels in the glomus cell, with consequent depolarization, Ca2⁺ entry and release of neurotransmitters in the dense granules.

Adaptation: chronic respiratory disease and altitude

When hypercapnia (raised arterial Pco₂) is prolonged, for example in chronic respiratory disease, CSF pH gradually returns to normal due to an adaptive and compensatory increase in HC0₃− transport across the blood-brain barrier. The drive to breathe from the central chemoreceptor is consequently reduced, even though Pco₂ is still high. Associated with this, there is occasionally a loss of sensitivity to further increases in P_aco₂, and the patient's ventilation is then primarily controlled by the level of Po₂ (hypoxic drive). Care must be taken with such patients, as giving high concentrations of 0₂ in order to increase blood 0₂ saturation may raise the Po₂ sufficiently to depress the hypoxic drive and hence ventilation. Normally, approximately 23-28% 0₂ is given to such patients. This leads to a sufficiently small rise in P_ao₂ as to have little effect on the hypoxic drive, but because of the steep slope of the 0₂ dissociation curve (Chapter 8), it can result in a significan improvement in 0₂ content. At high altitudes, ventilation is stimulated by the low atmospheric Po₂. This leads to hypocapnia and alkalosis (as more C0₂ is blown off), which depress ventilation. 0ver some days, the pH of CSF returns to normal due to HC0₃− transport out of the CSF, even though the Pco₂ remains low, and consequently ventilation increases again. 0ver a longer period, blood pH returns to normal due to renal compensation (Chapter 10). These processes form part of the acclimatization to altitude.