• Natasha N Kumar, Ana Velic, Jorge Soliz, Yingtang Shi, Keyong Li, Sheng Wang, Janelle L Weaver, Josh Sen, Stephen B G Abbott, Roman M Lazarenko, Marie-Gabrielle Ludwig, Edward Perez-Reyes, Nilufar Mohebbi, Carla Bettoni, Max Gassmann, Thomas Suply, Klaus Seuwen, Patrice G Guyenet, Carsten A Wagner, and Douglas A Bayliss.
• Department of Pharmacology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22908, USA.
• Science. 2015 Jun 12;348(6240):1255-60.

AbstractBlood gas and tissue pH regulation depend on the ability of the brain to sense CO2 and/or H(+) and alter breathing appropriately, a homeostatic process called central respiratory chemosensitivity. We show that selective expression of the proton-activated receptor GPR4 in chemosensory neurons of the mouse retrotrapezoid nucleus (RTN) is required for CO2-stimulated breathing. Genetic deletion of GPR4 disrupted acidosis-dependent activation of RTN neurons, increased apnea frequency, and blunted ventilatory responses to CO2. Reintroduction of GPR4 into RTN neurons restored CO2-dependent RTN neuronal activation and rescued the ventilatory phenotype. Additional elimination of TASK-2 (K(2P)5), a pH-sensitive K(+) channel expressed in RTN neurons, essentially abolished the ventilatory response to CO2. The data identify GPR4 and TASK-2 as distinct, parallel, and essential central mediators of respiratory chemosensitivity.Copyright © 2015, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

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