Effects of CO2 and H+ on laryngeal receptor activity in the perfused larynx in anaesthetized cats

1. Intralaryngeal CO2 reflexly decreases ventilation and increases upper ai rway muscle activity. Topical anaesthesia of the laryngeal mucosa or cuttin g the superior laryngeal nerves (SLNs) abolishes these reflexes, indicating that the receptors responsible are superficially located and that their af ferent fibres are in the SLN. Intralaryngeal CO2 affects the activity of re ceptors recorded from the SLN. 2. An isolated, luminally perfused laryngeal preparation was developed in a naesthetized, paralysed cats in order to compare the effects of solutions w ith varying levels of pH and P-CO2 on pressure-sensitive laryngeal receptor activity. Since the pH of tracheal surface fluid is reported to be approxi mately 7.0, two neutral (pH 7.4 and 7.0) and two acidic (pH 6.8 and 6.3) so lutions were used. 3. Compared with neutral acapnic control solutions, neutral hypercapnic (P- CO2 64 mmHg) solutions either excited or inhibited the discharge of 113 out of 211 pressure-sensitive SLN afferents. In 24 receptors, the effects of h ypercapnic solutions with either neutral or acidic pH were similar in both direction and magnitude. In 50 receptors affected by neutral hypercapnic so lutions, acidic acapnic solutions had no effect on 66% of units and signifi cantly smaller effects in the remaining units. In 17 receptors, the effects of neutral solutions with a P-CO2 of 35 mmHg were significantly less than for neutral solution with a P-CO2 of 64 mmHg. 4. These results show that the effects of CO2 on laryngeal pressure-sensiti ve receptors are independent of the pH of the perfusing media, and suggest that acidification of the receptor cell or its microenvironment is the main mechanism of CO2 chemoreception.