Criteria for central respiratory chemoreceptors: experimental evidence supporting current candidate cell groups

An interoceptive homeostatic system monitors levels of CO(2)/H(+) and provides a proportionate drive to respiratory control networks that adjust lung ventilation to maintain physiologically appropriate levels of CO(2) and rapidly regulate tissue acid-base balance. It has long been suspected that the sensory cells responsible for the major CNS contribution to this so-called respiratory CO(2)/H(+) chemoreception are located in the brainstem—but there is still substantial debate in the field as to which specific cells subserve the sensory function. Indeed, at the present time, several cell types have been championed as potential respiratory chemoreceptors, including neurons and astrocytes. In this review, we advance a set of criteria that are necessary and sufficient for definitive acceptance of any cell type as a respiratory chemoreceptor. We examine the extant evidence supporting consideration of the different putative chemoreceptor candidate cell types in the context of these criteria and also note for each where the criteria have not yet been fulfilled. By enumerating these specific criteria we hope to provide a useful heuristic that can be employed both to evaluate the various existing respiratory chemoreceptor candidates, and also to focus effort on specific experimental tests that can satisfy the remaining requirements for definitive acceptance.