Comparative analysis of transcriptomes from the carotid body, adrenal medulla, and superior cervical ganglion of adult mice

Acute O2 sensing is a fundamental property of cells in the peripheral chemoreceptors, e.g. glomus cells in the carotid body (CB) and chromaffin cells in the adrenal medulla (AM), and is necessary for adaptation to hypoxia. The mechanisms underlying the detection of changes in O2 tension by these cells are still poorly understood. Recently, we suggested that CB glomus cells have specific metabolic features that favour their sensitivity to hypoxia (Fernandez-Aguera et al, 2015, Cell Metab.). To investigate the metabolic profile characteristic of acute O2-sensing cells, we used adult mice to compare the transcriptomes of three organs derived from common sympathoadrenal progenitors, but exhibiting variable responsiveness to acute hypoxia: CB and AM which are O2-sensitive (CB > AM) and superior cervical ganglion (SCG), which are practically O2-insensitive. Our data support the concept that responsiveness to acute hypoxia depends on a “signature metabolic profile” in peripheral chemoreceptor cells. The CB, AM, and SCG from 2 months old C57 wildtype mice were used for RNA extraction and hybridization on Affymetrix GeneChip Mouse Transcriptome 1.0 Arrays. Three replicates of CB, and 4 replicates of AM and SCG were included in the current study. Due to the small tissue size, each CB replicate was pooled from 10 mice, whereas each AM and SCG replicate was pooled from 3 mice to obtain enough amount of RNA.