The astrocytic Na⁺ -HCO₃ ^- cotransporter, NBCe1, is dispensable for respiratory chemosensitivity.

ABSTRACT: The interoceptive homeostatic mechanism that controls breathing, blood gases and acid-base balance in response to changes in CO₂ /H⁺ is exquisitely sensitive, with convergent roles proposed for chemosensory brainstem neurons in the retrotrapezoid nucleus (RTN) and their supporting glial cells. For astrocytes, a central role for NBCe1, a Na⁺ -HCO₃ ^- cotransporter encoded by Slc4a4, has been envisaged in multiple mechanistic models (i.e. underlying enhanced CO₂ -induced local extracellular acidification or purinergic signalling). We tested these NBCe1-centric models by using conditional knockout mice in which Slc4a4 was deleted from astrocytes. In GFAP-Cre;Slc4a4^fl/fl mice we found diminished expression of Slc4a4 in

SUBMITTER: Li K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10528273 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature