Birmingham Arterial Chemoreceptor and Hypoxia (BACH) Research Group

The carotid body is a vital sensory organ that plays a key role in activating protective cardiovascular-respiratory reflexes when exposed to challenging environments such as high altitude (hypoxia), extreme heat (heat-stress) and low food intake (hypoglycaemia), as well as during exercise.

We are interested in understanding how the carotid body senses oxygen, carbon dioxide, temperature and low glucose, and how loss of function of the carotid body in certain individuals increases vulnerability to high altitude/hypoxia, heat-stress and hypoglycaemic exposure. We also examine mechanisms underlying pathological carotid body hyperactivity that lead to hypertension, cardiac arrhythmia, and breathing instability.

We aim to develop new treatments targeting the carotid body to improve cardiovascular, respiratory and thermoregulatory function when challenged by extreme environments and in patients with COPD, hypertension, obstructive sleep apnoea and diabetes. We perform integrated in vivo physiological measurements of cardiovascular-respiratory function and monitor whole body responses to hypoxia, heat stress and hypoglycaemia. We make ex vivo measurements of carotid body ion channel function, sensory nerve activity and protein expression using a variety of electrophysiological and advanced imaging approaches.

Downstream of the carotid body, we have developed novel fluorescence-based imaging techniques to measure sympathetic nerve distribution and function in the heart and blood vessels. The work is complemented by collaborations with physiologists and clinicians to measure carotid body and cardiovascular-respiratory function in humans.

Current Projects:

• Identifying the importance of the carotid body in activating cardiovascular-respiratory responses to heat stress.
• Understanding the importance of the carotid body in driving cardiovascular-respiratory adaptation to chronic hypoxia (high altitude). 
• Developing carotid body targeted therapies to improve cardiovascular-respiratory function in COPD, hypertension, diabetes and sleep apnoea.
• Deciphering carotid body sensory neural patterning to define its importance in stimulus coding, respiratory rhythm modulation and heart rate variability adjustment.    
• Exploring sympathetic nerve function in the heart and blood vessels- links to blood pressure regulation and cardiac arrhythmia.