Airway nerves: in vitro electrophysiology

Recording the activity of single airway sensory fibres or neuronal cell bodies in vitro has allowed detailed characterisation of fibre types and membrane properties. Fibre types can be identified by their conduction velocities and further studied by the application of drugs to their receptive field. C-fibres are sensitive to mechanical stimuli and a range of irritant chemicals (bradykinin, capsaicin, low pH, platelet-activating factor), whereas Adelta-fibres are relatively insensitive to chemical stimuli and appear to correlate to the rapidly adapting receptors identified in airways in vivo. Their site of origin also differs: upper airway C-fibres arise predominantly from the jugular ganglion and Adelta-fibres from the jugular and nodose ganglia. Intracellular recording from cell bodies in the ganglia has revealed a calcium-dependent potassium current common to many putative C-fibre cell bodies. This slow after hyperpolarisation current may be inhibited by stimuli that excite and sensitise C-fibres - this could be an important mechanism underlying the sensitisation of C-fibres in airway irritability.