Blockade of dopamine-induced chemosensory inhibition by domperidone.

The sensory discharges from the carotid body chemoreceptors of the cat are transiently inhibited by dopamine (DA) injections. This chemosensory inhibition was effectively blocked by domperidone, a selective antagonist of D2 dopaminoceptors. The basal frequency of spontaneous chemosensory impulses was immediately and sustainly increased after domperidone, suggesting the withdrawal of a tonic inhibition of chemosensory discharges by endogenous DA released from glomus cells. The peripheral dopaminergic modulation of chemoreflexes may be separately blocked by domperidone, a drug unable to cross the blood-brain barrier.