Differential Expression of Cocaine- and Amphetamine-Regulated Transcript-Immunoreactivity in the Rat Spinal Preganglionic Nuclei
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
11-24-2000
Description
The distribution of cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript-like immunoreactivity (CART-LI) was investigated in the rat spinal cords with the use of an antiserum against the CART peptide fragment 55-102. CART-LI fibers were concentrated in the superficial layers of the dorsal horn of all segments. In addition to CART-LI fibers, intensely labeled somata were detected in the intermediolateral cell column (IML) and other sympathetic preganglionic nuclei of the thoracolumbar segments. In the lumbosacral segments, CART-LI fibers but not somata were seen in the sacral parasympathetic nucleus. Double-labeling the spinal sections with choline acetyltransferase (ChAT)-antisera and CART-antisera revealed that the large majority of ChAT-positive somata in the sympathetic preganglionic nuclei were CART-positive, whereas ChAT-positive somata in the parasympathetic preganglionic nuclei were CART-negative. Our results show that CART-LI is selectively expressed in a population of sympathetic preganglionic neurons (SPNs), but not in parasympathetic preganglionic neurons (PPNs) of the rat.
Citation Information
Dun, S. L.; Chianca, D. A.; Dun, N. J.; Yang, J.; and Chang, J. K.. 2000. Differential Expression of Cocaine- and Amphetamine-Regulated Transcript-Immunoreactivity in the Rat Spinal Preganglionic Nuclei. Neuroscience Letters. Vol.294(3). 143-146. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0304-3940(00)01575-5 PMID: 11072135 ISSN: 0304-3940