Pulmonary rapidly adapting receptor stimulation does not increase airway resistance in anesthetized rabbits

In open-chest artificially ventilated rabbits, removal followed by replacement of positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP maneuver) favors stimulation of airway rapidly adapting receptors (RARs). The purpose of the present study was to determine whether activation of RARs can cause bronchoconstriction. We measured airway pressure, airflow, and tidal volume, and calculated dynamic lung compliance and total lung resistance. PEEP maneuver increased airway pressure swings (16.4 +/- 4% above control; p = 0.0016) and decreased compliance (to 84.8 +/- 2.8% of control; p = 0.0002) without changing resistance (108.0 +/- 4.4% of control; p = 0.85). On the other hand, the resistance increased greatly (93 +/- 13%, p < 0.01) after intravenous injection of acetylcholine or electrical stimulation of vagal efferents, indicating that our system could detect increases in the resistance. In a separate group, we stimulated RARs by stroking the trachea with a cotton tip (tickling), tickling produced cough, manifested by increased pressure and flow without resistance changing. These changes were abolished after paralysis with succinylcholine. Because we did not detect an increase in airflow resistance during activation of RARs by the PEEP maneuver and tickling, we conclude that increase in resistance may not be an important reflex component of airway RARs.