Catecholamines in the carotid body of several mammalian species: effects of surgical and chemical sympathectomy.

The catecholamine content of the carotid body of several mammalian species has been assayed using high performance liquid chromatography coupled to electrochemical detection and radioenzymatic assays. Although there were strain differences in the content of catecholamines in the carotid body of the rat, noradrenaline was equal to or exceeded the dopamine level in this species. No apparent differences were found in carotid bodies of animals killed by cervical dislocation or those dissected from anaesthetized animals. Noradrenaline concentrations were found to be substantially higher than those of dopamine in the cat and guinea-pig carotid body, though dopamine was the predominant amine in the rabbit and ferret. Unilateral superior cervical ganglionectomy or chemical sympathectomy with 6-hydroxydopamine substantially depleted noradrenaline without influencing dopamine in the rat carotid body. A marked selective reduction in noradrenaline was also observed in the rabbit and guinea-pig following ganglionectomy, though similar procedures in the cat failed to alter the levels of either catecholamine in the carotid body. The present data highlights the marked species variation in catecholamine content and the contribution to the latter by sympathetic innervation to this organ. This information will be useful in determining the species specificity regarding the relative roles of dopamine and noradrenaline in the modulation of chemoreceptor afferent discharge.