Peripheral arterial chemoreceptor (CB)

The peripheral arterial chemoreceptor, primarily represented by the carotid body, is a specialized sensory structure located at the bifurcation of the common carotid arteries that monitors the partial pressure of oxygen (pO2), carbon dioxide (pCO2), and arterial pH (MDPI, 2020; NIH, 2024). It serves as a vital homeostatic sensor, initiating immediate increases in ventilation and sympathetic nervous system activity in response to hypoxia or metabolic acidosis to ensure adequate tissue oxygenation (StatPearls, 2023). In various disease states, particularly resistant hypertension, chronic heart failure, and obstructive sleep apnea, these chemoreceptors can become hyper-reflexic or tonically overactive, leading to a state of chronic sympathetic overdrive that exacerbates cardiovascular damage (Nature Medicine, 2016; PMC, 2022). Consequently, the peripheral arterial chemoreceptor has emerged as a novel therapeutic target for drug development, with P2X3 purinergic receptor antagonists like gefapixant (MK-7264) being investigated for their ability to normalize chemoreceptor hyperactivity and reduce blood pressure (Nature Medicine, 2016; University of Bristol, 2016). Pharmacological modulation of this target aims to treat neurogenic-mediated conditions by attenuating aberrant afferent signaling to the brainstem without the irreversible consequences of surgical ablation (PubMed, 2023).

Other names

Carotid bodyAortic bodyPeripheral chemoreceptorGlomus caroticum

Modulation of chemosensory transduction and afferent nerve discharge from the carotid body to the brainstem (specifically the nucleus tractus solitarii), primarily through the antagonism of excitatory P2X3 purinergic receptors or the regulation of TASK potassium channels, to normalize sympathetic tone and ventilatory responses.