Developmental change of T‐type Ca 2+ channel expression and its role in rat chromaffin cell responsiveness to acute hypoxia

Neonatal chromaffin cells of the adrenal medulla (AM) are intrinsic chemoreceptors that secrete catecholamines in response to hypoxia, thus contributing to fetal adaptation to extrauterine life. In most mammals studied, oxygen sensitivity of AM cells disappears a few days after birth, possibly due to innervation of the adrenal gland by the cholinergic fibres of the splanchnic nerve (∼postnatal day 7 in the rat). The mechanisms underlying these homeostatic changes in chromaffin cells are unknown. Low voltage‐activated, T‐type, Ca 2+ channels regulate cell excitability and their expression is up‐regulated by hypoxia. Hence, we hypothesized that these channels contribute to the developmental changes in the chemoreceptive properties of AM chromaffin cells. Using electrophysiological, immunocytochemical and molecular biology methodologies we show here that neonatal AM chromaffin cells express T‐type Ca 2+ channels (of α1H or Ca v 3.2 sub‐type) and that the function of these channels is necessary for catecholamine release in response to acute hypoxia. T‐type Ca 2+ channel expression, as well as chromaffin cell responsiveness to hypoxia, decrease with postnatal maturation. Adult chromaffin cell sensitivity to hypoxia reappears after AM denervation in parallel with the recruitment of T‐type Ca 2+ channels. These observations indicate that T‐type Ca 2+ channels are essential for the acute response of chromaffin cells to hypoxia and help explain the disappearance of O 2 sensitivity in adult AM chromaffin cells. Our results may also be relevant for understanding the pathogenesis of disorders associated with chronic hypoxia or maternal nicotine consumption.