TY - JOUR
T1 - Vagal afferent innervation of the airways in health and disease
AU - Mazzone, Stuart B.
AU - Undem, Bradley J.
N1 - Funding Information:
S. B. Mazzone holds National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia Grants 1042528, 1025589, and 1078943. B. J. Undem was supported by National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Grant HL112919.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 the American Physiological Society.
PY - 2016/7
Y1 - 2016/7
N2 - Vagal sensory neurons constitute the major afferent supply to the airways and lungs. Subsets of afferents are defined by their embryological origin, molecular profile, neurochemistry, functionality, and anatomical organization, and collectively these nerves are essential for the regulation of respiratory physiology and pulmonary defense through local responses and centrally mediated neural pathways. Mechanical and chemical activation of airway afferents depends on a myriad of ionic and receptor-mediated signaling, much of which has yet to be fully explored. Alterations in the sensitivity and neurochemical phenotype of vagal afferent nerves and/or the neural pathways that they innervate occur in a wide variety of pulmonary diseases, and as such, understanding the mechanisms of vagal sensory function and dysfunction may reveal novel therapeutic targets. In this comprehensive review we discuss historical and state-of-the-art concepts in airway sensory neurobiology and explore mechanisms underlying how vagal sensory pathways become dysfunctional in pathological conditions.
AB - Vagal sensory neurons constitute the major afferent supply to the airways and lungs. Subsets of afferents are defined by their embryological origin, molecular profile, neurochemistry, functionality, and anatomical organization, and collectively these nerves are essential for the regulation of respiratory physiology and pulmonary defense through local responses and centrally mediated neural pathways. Mechanical and chemical activation of airway afferents depends on a myriad of ionic and receptor-mediated signaling, much of which has yet to be fully explored. Alterations in the sensitivity and neurochemical phenotype of vagal afferent nerves and/or the neural pathways that they innervate occur in a wide variety of pulmonary diseases, and as such, understanding the mechanisms of vagal sensory function and dysfunction may reveal novel therapeutic targets. In this comprehensive review we discuss historical and state-of-the-art concepts in airway sensory neurobiology and explore mechanisms underlying how vagal sensory pathways become dysfunctional in pathological conditions.
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U2 - 10.1152/physrev.00039.2015
DO - 10.1152/physrev.00039.2015
M3 - Article
C2 - 27279650
AN - SCOPUS:84983744646
SN - 0031-9333
VL - 96
SP - 975
EP - 1024
JO - Physiological reviews
JF - Physiological reviews
IS - 3
ER -