A dividing granule-containing cell in the pelvic ganglion of the guinea-pig

Summary A dividing granule-containing cell is described in the pelvic ganglion of the guinea-pig two days after pelvic nerve section. This appears to be the first report of a dividing granule-containing cell in adult tissue.     

Localization of VIP-immunoreactive nerves in airways and pulmonary vessels of dogs,cats, and human subjects

Summary VIP-containing neurons were localized in lungs from dogs, cats, and human subjects by means of the indirect immunofluorescence technique. Nerve fibers and terminals were observed in the smooth muscle layer and glands of airways, and within the walls of pulmonary and bronchial vessels, especially at the medial-adventitial junction. VIP-positive nerve cell bodies were identified in ganglia located in the walls of bronchi. These findings provide an anatomic basis for the possible modulation of airway and pulmonary vascular function by this neuropeptide.Supported by National Research Service Award HL 5914 and by Lung Center Award HL 14187 from NHLBI, USPHS     

Cholinergic- rather than adrenergic-induced sweating play a role in developing and developed rat eccrine sweat glands

Both cholinergic and adrenergic stimulation can induce sweat secretion in human eccrine sweat glands, but whether cholinergic and adrenergic stimulation play same roles in rat eccrine sweat glands is still controversial. To explore the innervations, and adrenergic- and cholinergic-induced secretory response in developing and developed rat eccrine sweat glands, rat hind footpads from embryonic day (E) 15.5–20.5, postanal day (P) 1–14, P21 and adult were fixed, embedded, sectioned and subjected to immunofluorescence staining for general fiber marker protein gene product 9.5 (PGP 9.5), adrenergic fiber marker tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) and cholinergic fiber marker vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP), and cholinergic- and adrenergic-induced sweat secretion was detected at P1–P21 and adult rats by starch-iodine test. The results showed that eccrine sweat gland placodes of SD rats were first appeared at E19.5, and the expression of PGP 9.5 was detected surrounding the sweat gland placodes at E19.5, TH at P7, and VIP at P11. Pilocarpine-induced sweat secretion was first detected at P16 in hind footpads by starch-iodine test. There was no measurable sweating when stimulated by alpha- or beta-adrenergic agonists at all the examined time points. We conclude that rat eccrine sweat glands, just as human eccrine sweat glands, co-express adrenergic and cholinergic fibers, but different from human eccrine sweat glands, cholinergic- rather than adrenergic-induced sweating plays a role in the developing and developed rat eccrine sweat glands.     

Sensory and autonomic innervation of non-hairy and hairy human skin

Summary Non-hairy and hairy human skin were investigated with the use of the indirect immunohistochemical technique employing antisera to different neuronal and non-neuronal structural proteins and neurotransmitter candidates. Fibers immunoreactive to antisera against neurofilaments, neuron-specific enolase, myelin basic protein, protein S-100, substance P, neurokinin A, neuropeptide Y, tyrosine hydroxylase and vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) were detected in the skin with specific distributional patterns. Neurofilament-, neuron-specific enolase-, myelin basic protein-, protein S-100-, substance P-, neurokinin A-and vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP)-like immunoreactivities were found in or in association with sensory nerves; moreover, neuron-specific enolase-, myelin basic protein-, protein S-100, neuropeptide Y-, tyrosine hydroxylase- and vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP)-like immunoreactivities occurred in or in association with autonomic nerves. It was concluded that antiserum against neurofilaments labels sensory nerve fibers exclusively, whereas neuron-specific enolase-, myelin basic protein- and protein S-100-like immunoreactivities are found in or in association with both sensory and autonomic nerves. Substance P- and neurokinin A-like immunoreactivities were observed only in sensory nerve fibers, and neuropeptide Y- and tyrosine hydroxylase-like immunoreactivities occurred only in autonomic nerve fibers, whereas vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP)-like immunoreactivity was seen predominantly in autonomic nerves, but also in some sensory nerve fibers.     

The brachial plexus in the chacma baboon (Papio ursinus)

Abstract: The brachial plexus in each of ten embalmed, mature chacma baboons was dissected to document the structure and branching pattern of this nerve plexus in this increasingly used research animal. In general, the brachial plexus in the chacma baboon was similar to the plexuses in the vervet and other Old World monkeys. However, several aspects were comparable to those observed in domestic animals. Thus the bipedal and quadrupedal abilities of the chacma baboon were reflected in the structure of its brachial plexus.     

Effect of 2,5-hexanedione and 3,4-dimethyl-2,5-hexanedione on retrograde axonal transport in sciatic nerve

The effects of systemically introduced neurotoxic solvents 2,5-hexanedione (2,5-HD) and 3,4-dimethyl-2,5-hexanedione (DMHD) on retrograde axonal transport (RT) of¹²⁵I-labeled tetanus toxin (TT) was studied in rat and mouse sciatic nerves. The rate of retrograde transport of TT in control rat sciatic nerves was slightly higher (6.8±0.4 mm/h) than in mouse sciatic nerves (5.4±0.5 mm/h). A single high dose of 2,5-HD (1,000 mg/kg, i.p.) produced a time-dependent effect on RT in mouse sciatic nerves. 2,5-HD caused a gradual decrease in the velocity of RT (approximately 65% inhibition between 2.0–2.5 h) with a reversal to normal rate 3–5 h after the toxin administration. The effect of DMHD on RT was examined following semi-chronic treatment in rats. DMHD caused a significant decrease (approximately 50%) in the rate of TT transport, in addition, it produced weight loss and hind-limb paralysis.I had the good opportunity of being a member of Professor Alan N. Davison' research team during 1971–1977. This research paper is dedicated to his retirement.     

Sucrose-gap technique: Advantages and limitations

The sucrose-gap technique has been widely used as a convenient tool for recording of the membrane activities from myelinated or unmyelinated nerves and muscle preparations (such as smooth and cardiac muscles). The quantitative measurements of membrane and action potentials in preparations with electrical coupling between their compartments are made much easier by this technique; the recorded potentials are rather similar to those recorded with a microelectrode. Recording of the membrane activities is of great value to experimenters studying the nervous system due to the simplicity and ease of use of this technique and the broad spectrum of sensitivity to agents influencing the electrical activity. This paper is focused on the set-up procedure and operation of the sucrose-gap technique, which provides an inexpensive, practical, and effective method for the investigation of the effects of drugs on the membrane activities of nerves and muscles in vitro. Neirofiziologiya/Neurophysiology, Vol. 39, No. 3, pp. 270–274, May–June, 2007.     

A paradigm shift in neurobiology: peripheral nerves deliver cellular material and control development

Living beings are extremely complex. Multiple structures, especially evolutionarily young ones, develop or take their final shape during late stages of embryonic development, when the body of an embryo is large and comprised of a huge number of cells. Yet, these late structures frequently need cellular sources from other locations and, sometimes, developmental stages. During recent years it became obvious that nerves provide a perfect solution for transporting and hosting multipotent cells that are later recruited to become new cellular sources in the innervated organs. Moreover, the role of nerves and nerve-dwelling cells in morphogenesis and regeneration seems to be much broader than was previously appreciated in invertebrate and vertebrate animals. In a broader view, nerves can provide material for morphological plasticity and evolutional diversity.     

From humoral fever to neuroimmunological control of fever

Fever is a part of the acute phase response to infection or systemic inflammation. It is thus a part of a complex physiological defence strategy against micro-organisms invading the body of the host, or against non-microbial agents recognized as foreign by mobile immune cells of the body. The fever is induced by inflammatory mediators (prostaglandins, cytokines) released by immune cells activated by contacts with foreign molecules (exogenous pyrogens). These fever-inducing mediators, produced by the host cells (endogenous pyrogens), were originally thought to be distributed by means of the bloodstream (similarly to hormones) to different tissues of the body. Although the details of their transport across the blood–brain-barrier have not been clarified, it has been assumed that they activate the local production of inflammatory mediators within the brain, inducing a change in the thermoregulatory set-range and resulting in fever (humoral theory of fever). This concept has apparently changed in the past few years. Evidence has recently been presented supporting the possibility of the transport of immune signals to the brain via vegetative and peripheral nerves. In this review an attempt is made to describe the events leading to a fever response accompanying the systemic inflammation against a background of microbiological, immunological and physiological data. The experimental evidence published during the last five years has been reviewed, and a new concept of neuroimmunological control of fever is presented. This concept suggests that the host immune defence is coordinated through an integration of the neural, immune, hemopoietic and endocrine systems. The brain seems to be informed of any damage or antigenic challenge in the periphery of the body by a sensory host-monitoring system, and this information is confirmed by immune signals delivered by the humoral transport. The combination of these signals would allow the brain to recognize the nature of the challenge, and to activate an appropriate defence strategy. Fever as a part of many successful defence strategies against infections may thus be beneficial.