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PubMed1975

[The effect of cholinergic substances on individual mechanoreceptors--Pacinian corpuscles].

Acetylcholine and nicotine application to the intact pacinian corpuscle failed to stimulate the spike activity, but changed the sensitivity to the mechanical stimulation: low concentration (1.10(-6) g/ml) increased the sensitivity and high concentration (1.10(-4) g/ml) decreased it. This influence can be attributed to the action of these substances on the structures which generate the action potentials. Acetylcholine application to decapsulated pacinian corpuscles stimulated the appearance of the spike activity. This reaction was possibly connected with the acetylcholine influence on the mechanoreceptive zones proper. Tubocurarine or hexonium application of decapsulated pacinian corpuscles led to depression of the sensitivity of the receptor to the mechanical stimulation that can also be explained by the participation of acetylcholine in the process of adequate receptor stimulation.

Acetylcholine↗
PubMed2006

ETS transcription factor ER81 is required for the Pacinian corpuscle development.

ER81, a member of the ETS family of transcription factors, is involved in processes of specification of neuronal identity, control of sensory-motor connectivity, and differentiation of muscle spindles. Spindles either degenerate or are abnormal in mutant mice lacking ER81. We examined whether ER81 is required for the development of another class of mechanoreceptors, the Pacinian corpuscle. ER81 was expressed by the inner core cells of the corpuscles, as reflected by expression of the lacZ reporter gene in Er81(+/lacZ) mutants, thereby suggesting a role for ER81 in the corpuscle development. No Pacinian corpuscles or their afferent nerve fibers were present in the crus of Er81 null mice at birth. Legs of mutant embryos examined at E16.5 were also devoid of the corpuscles, but not of their afferents. Thus, Pacinian corpuscles do not form, and their afferents do not survive, in the absence of ER81. A deficiency of dorsal root ganglia neurons expressing calretinin, a marker for neurons subserving Pacinian corpuscles, correlated with the absence of corpuscles and their afferents in Er81 null mice. These observations indicate a requirement for ER81 in the assembly of Pacinian corpuscles and the survival of the sensory neurons that innervate them.

Animals↗
PubMed1984

Intensity and frequency characteristics of pacinian corpuscles. I. Action potentials.

The mechanisms by which pacinian corpuscles, isolated from cat mesentery, transduce mechanical stimuli have been measured for directly applied sinusoidal deformations. Stimulus-response relationships were measured as follows: intensity characteristics, which relate the receptor-potential magnitude or the neural firing rate to stimulus intensity; amplitude-frequency characteristics, which relate the stimulus amplitude to stimulus frequency for a given response criterion; and phase-frequency characteristics, which relate the phase angle between the stimulus and the receptor response to stimulus frequency. This report, the first in a series of three, deals with the characteristics reflected in the neural firing rate. The two reports that follow deal with the receptor potential, which, if of sufficient amplitude, generates the propagated action potential. In the majority of the pacinian corpuscles investigated, the intensity characteristics for neural firing rates were steep at low stimulus intensities and plateaued at submultiples and multiples of the stimulus frequency as stimulus intensity was increased. Poststimulus time and interval histograms reveal that the plateaus occur as a result of phase locking to the stimulus. The submultiples and multiples of stimulus frequency at which phase locking was found and the length of the plateaus depended on stimulus frequency. These plateaus were eliminated with the use of narrow-band noise stimuli. The amplitude-frequency characteristics obtained with either a criterion of constant firing rate or that of a constant number of neural spikes per stimulus cycle were U-shaped functions. Their positions along both the intensity and frequency continua are affected by response criterion. For example, the mean (n = 19) amplitude-frequency characteristic generated with a constant firing rate criterion of 1 spike/s has a maximum sensitivity of about -37.0 dB re 1-micron peak and a best frequency (BF, stimulus frequency where maximum sensitivity occurs) of 465 Hz. The bandwidth, measured by Q3 dB, is 1.02. Alternatively, the average (n = 16) amplitude-frequency characteristic obtained with a response criterion of 1 spike per stimulus cycle has a maximum sensitivity of about -25.0 dB re 1-micron peak, a BF of 270 Hz and Q3 dB value of 1.16. Spontaneous activity (SPA; activity in the absence of controlled stimuli) was found in 13.6% of the pacinian corpuscles. Intensity characteristics and frequency characteristics of these corpuscles show features similar to those of corpuscles without spontaneous activity except that the intensity characteristics asymptote to SPA levels at low stimulus intensities.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Action Potentials↗
PubMed2000

Restoration of lamellar structures in adult rat Pacinian corpuscles following their simultaneous freezing injury and denervation.

The capsule and inner core are multilamellar auxiliary structures enveloping the axon terminal of the Pacinian corpuscle. The freezing injury of the rat interosseal Pacinian corpuscles induced the destruction of all cellular components while the extracellular matrix including the basal laminae survive the treatment. Simultaneous denervation and the freezing treatment of the Pacinian corpuscles discovered an ability of the basal lamina and other components of the extracellular matrix to stimulate a differentiation of migrated Schwann cells and fibroblasts into multilamellar auxiliary structures. The restoration of inner core and capsule in the Pacinian corpuscles was independent of the presence of sensory axon terminals. The restored lamellar structures of Pacinian corpuscles in long-term surviving rat (4 to 8 months) displayed atrophic changes. The results suggest that the extracellular matrix of rat Pacinian corpuscles may contain molecules that are produced by Schwann cells and fibroblasts during maturation of the multilamellar auxiliary structures. The molecules deposited into the extracellular matrix are able to influence the redifferentiation of multilamellar auxiliary structures from immature cells.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

Pacinian corpuscle development involves multiple Trk signaling pathways.

The development of crural Pacinian corpuscles was explored in neonatal mutant mice lacking nerve growth factor (NGF), brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), neurotrophin-3 (NT3) or neurotrophin-4 (NT4), or their cognate Trk receptors. Deficits of the corpuscles and their afferents were greatest in NT3, less in BDNF, and least in NT4 null mice. Deletion of NGF or p75(NTR) genes had little or no impact. No Pacinian corpuscles were present in NT3;BDNF and NT3;NT4 double or NT3;BDNF;NT4 triple null mice. Deficits were larger in NT3 than TrkC mutants and were comparable to deficits observed in TrkB or TrkA mutants. Afferents of all corpuscles coexpressed TrkA and TrkB receptors, and some afferents coexpressed all three Trk receptors. Our results suggest that multiple neurotrophins, in particular NT3, regulate the density of crural Pacinian corpuscles, most likely by regulating the survival of sensory neurons. In addition, NT3/TrkB and/or NT3/TrkA signaling plays a greater role than NT3/TrkC signaling in afferents to developing Pacinian corpuscles.

Animals↗
PubMed1984

The effect of long-term denervation on the ultrastructure of Pacinian corpuscles in the cat.

The ultrastructure of Pacinian corpuscles of the cat located in the crural region and innervated by the interosseous nerve was studied 1 to 14 months after denervation. Both the Pacinian inner core and capsule remained well preserved one month after denervation. However, the denervated inner cores underwent progressive atrophy and wasting, which resulted in a gradual reduction of the amount of inner-core cells and lamellae, widening of interlamellar clefts, formation of empty spaces in the axial region and a considerable increase in the number of collagen fibrils. In spite of the wasting, the inner core still survived 14 months after denervation, but at least half of its volume became occupied by collagen fibrils which surrounded the remaining inner-core cells and lamellae. Collagen fibrils assembled in the denervated core were markedly thinner than those found in the capsule, as is also the case in normal Pacinian corpuscles. In the capsule, discrete focal degeneration, occasional pyknosis of the innermost capsular cells and macrophage infiltration were observed from the first month after nerve section onward, but the number of capsular layers remained within the normal range (30-40) up to 14 months after denervation.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Pacinian corpuscle hyperplasia in the hand.

Proliferation of pacinian corpuscles adjacent to the digital nerves in the hand is very rare. Patients are usually seen initially with a history of previous trauma and severe localized pain. The symptoms, signs, and surgical treatment of previously reported cases are reviewed and histological criteria from this case are proposed to define this condition. In addition to a neuroma or glomus tumor, pacinian corpuscle hyperplasia should be considered in the differential diagnosis of digital or palmar pain.

Diagnosis, Differential↗
PubMed1980

Projections from Pacinian corpuscles and rapidly adapting mechanoreceptors of glabrous skin to the cat's spinal cord.

1. Single axons innervating Pacinian corpuscles and rapidly adapting mechanoreceptors of the foot and toe pads were injected with horseradish peroxidase near their entrance to the lumbosacral spinal cord in cats anaesthetized with chloralose and paralysed with gallamine triethiodide. Subsequent histochemistry revealed the morphology of the intra-spinal parts of the axons. 2. All Pacinian corpuscle axons that could be traced into the dorsal root bifurcated upon entering the cord into ascending and descending branches. All Pacinian corpuscle axons gave rise to collaterals that entered the dorsal horn. 3. The collaterals of Pacinian corpuscle afferent fibres had a distinctive morphology. They provided two regions of termination, a larger dorsal region in laminae III and IV and a smaller ventral region in laminae V and VI. Within the dorsal region the terminal axons ran mainly in the longitudinal axis of the cord and carried many boutons en passant. Within the ventral region the axons ran dorso-ventrally in the transverse plane of the cord and although carrying some boutons en passant also gave rise to clusters of boutons. 4. The collaterals of rapidly adapting afferent fibres had a distinctive morphology different from that of the Pacinian corpuscle afferent fibre collaterals. The termination region of rapidly adapting afferents was limited almost exclusively to lamina III, with only slight extension into lamina IV. Boutons were mainly of the en passant type and terminal axons were generally orientated within the longitudinal axis of the cord. 5. The morphology of the afferent fibre collaterals is discussed in relation to the physiology of the dorsal horn.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Immunohistochemistry of human cutaneous Meissner and pacinian corpuscles.

This paper reviews the immunohistochemical characteristics of two kinds of human cutaneous sensory nerve formations (SNFs), the Meissner and Pacinian corpuscles. In both kinds of SNF the central axon might be easily identifiable because it displays immunoreactivity (IR) for the neuroendocrine markers neuron-specific enolase and protein gene product 9.5, as well as for neuron-specific intermediate filament proteins, i.e., neurofilaments. Other intermediate filament proteins such as vimentin are localized in the lamellar cells of Meissner corpuscles, and in the inner core, outer core and capsule of Pacinian corpuscles. However, they lack cytokeratins or glial fibrillary acidic protein IR. On the other hand, and in agreement with ultrastructural data, IR for basement membrane constituents laminin and type IV collagen is found underlying all SNF constituents, with the exception of the axon. One of the mechanisms involved in the maintenance of intracellular calcium ions (Ca2+) homeostasis is the calcium binding proteins. Ca2+ play a key role in the mechanoelectric transduction and have been localized in SNFs. In this way IR for the Ca(2+)-binding proteins calbindin D28K, parvalbumin and calretinin, is present and colocalized in both Meissner and Pacinian corpuscles; furthermore, S-100 protein is exclusively localized in the lamellar cells and the inner core. On the other hand, the skin is a main source of neurotrophins for a subset of neural crest sensory neurons, some of which end forming SNF. These factors are conveyed via retrograde axonal transport from the skin to the cell body of the responsive neurons. Interestingly, Meissner and Pacinian corpuscles also display IR for the pan-neurotrophin low-affinity receptor (p75), and for the trkA receptor protein, a basic constituent of the high-affinity receptor for some neurotrophins. Moreover, they express IR for the epidermal growth factor receptor. Finally, other antigens not proper to the cells forming human cutaneous SNF, such as the epithelial membrane antigen and the leucocytary antigen-7, have also been detected.

Antigens, Differentiation↗
PubMed1994

Hyperplastic pacinian corpuscles: an uncommonly encountered lesion of the hand.

The occurrence of hyperplastic pacinian corpuscles in the hand is rare, with only 13 cases reported in the literature. We describe such a case in a 70-year-old male who had worked as a locksmith for many years. A grape-like cluster of firm, rice-sized nodules was discovered in the subcutaneous tissue of the finger following a glass-induced injury. Histopathological findings revealed pacinian corpuscles to be increased in size and number. Individual corpuscles consisted of a central nerve fiber surrounded by 35 to 60 concentric lamellae (normal controls from other specimens: 13-15 lamellae). The external corpuscular diameter ranged from 1.8 to 3.2 mm (normal controls from other specimens: 1.6 mm). Immunohistochemistry showed positive staining with Leu 7 antibody and antiglial fibrillary acidic protein in the small nerves situated in the vicinity of the pacinian corpuscles, but not in the corpuscles themselves. The lesion reported here clearly differed from both neurofibroma with occasional pacinian differentiation and the so-called pacinian neurofibroma. There was no evidence of neurofibromatosis.

Aged↗
PubMed1995

Reinnervation of rat Pacinian corpuscles after nerve crush during the postcritical period of development.

The ultrastructure of crural Pacinian corpuscles was examined after sciatic nerve crush performed in 7- to 20-day-old rats, i.e. during the postcritical period of development when the corpuscles no longer degenerate after axotomy but cease growing. The aim of our study was to assess the innervation pattern and structural changes of the corpuscles following transient denervation and subsequent reinnervation during their maturation and growth. Reinnervated corpuscles were examined by electron microscopy from 2.5 months after nerve crush onwards. After sciatic nerve crush at 7 days of age, the corpuscles are mostly reinnervated with multiple axon terminals, each of them enclosed within a newly formed inner core. The axial multiple cores are in part covered by a layer of concentric inner core lamellae and surrounded by a capsule, both structures having survived from the original corpuscle. After nerve crush at 10 days of age, reinnervated Pacinian corpuscles usually contain, in their axial region, a denervated remainder of the original core together with a few regenerated axon terminals enclosed within new inner cores. These axial structures are surrounded by a layer of concentric lamellae of the original core which may accommodate some regenerated terminals. Additional axon terminals with their small inner cores may be found at the outer aspect of the composite core beneath the capsule. When the nerve is crushed in 15-day-old rats, the inner core which is already well developed remains preserved by the time of reinnervation, and regenerating axons grow in between the original lamellae inducing only moderate neoformation of 2-3 lamellar layers which enclose the terminals. After crushing the sciatic nerve in 20-day-old rats, formation of new inner core lamellae is minimal and regenerated terminals become accommodated between the original lamellar of the core as is the case in adult animals. Regeneration of new inner cores and reinnervation of the preserved lamellar structure thus characterize the recovery of Pacinian corpuscles following reinnervation after nerve crush during the postcritical period of their development.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Growth-associated protein (GAP-43) in terminal Schwann cells of rat Pacinian corpuscles.

Growth-associated protein (GAP-43) immunoreactivity was examined in Pacinian corpuscles of intact neonatal and adult rats as well as after denervation and reinnervation in adult rats. All immature Pacinian corpuscles were GAP-43 immunoreactive (GAP-43+) in their inner cores while only 46 +/- 5.6% of the mature corpuscles exhibited GAP-43+ inner cores. The frequency of GAP-43+ inner cores increased to 90 +/- 7.2% after their permanent denervation. The expression of GAP-43 in the inner cores was reduced by contact with regrowing axons, but 38 +/- 5.3% of Pacinian corpuscles retained GAP-43+ in their inner cores following reinnervation. These results indicate that GAP-43 regulation is not confined only to axons but also involves some extra-axonal cues, and support a role for this protein in the process formation by terminal Schwann cells.

Aging↗
PubMed1993

Distribution of pacinian corpuscles in the hand of the monkey, Macaca fuscata.

The size and distribution of pacinian corpuscles were investigated in the palmar aspect of both hands of the monkey, Macaca fuscata. Most pacinian corpuscles were located in the dermis (dermal type) and subcutaneous tissue (subcutaneous type) throughout the hand. On light microscopy there were no differences in the structure of these 2 types, although almost all the subcutaneous type had a greater longitudinal dimension than the dermal type. Corpuscles were oval or elliptical and their longitudinal and transverse dimensions varied from 156 to 2025 microns and 88 to 1240 microns, respectively. Many pacinian corpuscles were in close relation to the small blood vessels, and their diameters were as large as those of capillaries. There were 458 corpuscles (dermal type: subcutaneous type = 140:318) in the right hand and 416 (186:230) in the left hand. About 40% of the corpuscles in each hand were found in the digital region; the remainder were located in the palm. The mean number of corpuscles in each finger was 33 and they were concentrated in the distal and middle phalanges. In the palmar region, most corpuscles were localised in the 2nd and 3rd interdigital eminences and the thenar and hypothenar eminences.

Animals↗
PubMed1975

Pacinian corpuscle neuroma of digital nerves.

Symptoms and incapacitation due to abnormal aggregations of pacinian corpuscles are uncommon. Indeed, only three reports have been found in the scientific literature. A case is presented in which the patient's chief complaint was pain and localized tenderness in the hand which interfered with normal activity. Surgical exploration of the palm showed abnormalities of pacinian corpuscles attached to the median digital nerve in the form of a grape-like cluster and a single enlarged corpuscle beneath the epineurium; the abnormality attached to the ulnar digital nerve appeared as an offshoot of hyperplastic corpuscles lying in tandem. The abnormal corpuscles were excised. The symptoms have not recurred to date. These abnormalities in size, position, and number of pacinian corpuscles are compared to the findings of the few other reports in the literature. The neuroma formation found attached to this ulnar nerve has not been cited previously.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Reinnervation of cat pacinian corpuscles after nerve crush.

The reinnervation pattern of crural pacinian corpuscles was examined by light and electron microscopy in eight adult cats of both sexes 3-18 months after sciatic nerve crush. Normal pacinian corpuscles are each supplied with a single myelinated axon and a single cylindrical axon terminal which may branch in the distal part of the inner core. Reinnervation of these vibroreceptors was very satisfactory after sciatic nerve crush: in a sample of 68 corpuscles examined 3-18 months after the operation, 92.6% were found reinnervated, while only 7.4% remained denervated. At the nerve entry, 84.2% of the reinnervated corpuscles were supplied with a single myelinated axon, while 15.8% received two myelinated axons; some of the axons branched before and after entering the inner core. Near the mid-level of the inner core, 60.3% of 63 reinnervated corpuscles were innervated with a single axon terminal, 22.2% were bilateral, while 17.5% had three or more terminals. Regenerated axon terminals induced the formation of thin lamellar layers in the axial region of the original core and, exceptionally, also at the outer aspect of the original core. In monoterminal corpuscles, the shape and ultrastructure of regenerated endings resembled those of normal controls, whereas in multiterminal corpuscles their shape and profiles were variable. In contrast to previous reports, reinnervated corpuscles did not ultimately become monoterminal. On the contrary, the mean number of 1.3 terminals found in reinnervated crural corpuscles at 3-5 months increased to 1.9 terminals per corpuscle 6-18 months after axotomy.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

Macrophages in Pacinian corpuscles.

The presence of macrophages in the outer bulb region of mouse, monkey and human Pacinian corpuscles was demonstrated by light and electron microscopy. In the normal, nontreated, Pacinian corpuscles, a few particular cells were located in the spaces between lamellae of the outer bulb. These cells contained numerous vesicles and vacuoles, and various cytoplasmic processes. When horseradish peroxidase (HRP) was injected locally or systemically, many HRP-positive cells, which were considered to be similar to the particular cells described above, were found in the outer bulb region of the corpuscles. Electron microscopy revealed that these cells contained HRP in vesicles and vacuoles, suggesting that they were macrophages vigorously taking up exogenous HRP. Macrophages in the Pacinian corpuscles are considered to work as scavengers to keep the inner environment of the corpuscles clear and constant with regard to its macromolecular content.

Animals↗
PubMed1987

The cytology of human Pacinian corpuscles: evidence for sprouting of the central axon.

During the course of the studies on non-traumatized Pacinian corpuscles from normal human adults, we have frequently encountered corpuscles which have an 'apparently multiple' innervation in both light and electron microscopic preparations. On closer inspection of serial sections for both light and electron microscopy, these 'apparently multiple' axon terminals have been found in fact to be branches of the main central axon within the inner core of the corpuscle. Sprouting occurred at the trunk or at the extreme tip of the main axon, and such sprouts extended in various directions from the central axon throughout the inner core, producing tortuous and complex patterns of this 'multiple' innervation. These axonal sprouts do not have separate inner cores separated from one another, but rather are embedded in a common inner core. The presence of a common inner core thus differentiates normal axonal sprouts from the experimentally or pathologically produced multiple innervation that results form regeneration of axons in a previously denervated corpuscle. We conclude that the inner core of Pacinian corpuscles is a unique micro-environment promoting sprouting of sensory axon in the normal human adult as well as juvenile Pacinian corpuscles.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Reinnervation of transplanted pacinian corpuscles by ventral root axons: ultrastructure of the regenerated nerve terminals.

This study addresses two questions. Can mature, denervated and transplanted Pacinian corpuscles accept innervation from motor axons? If so, does the alien target influence the structural characteristics of the regenerated motor axon terminals? Pacinian corpuscles from the hind leg of young rats, together with a segment of the nerve branch through which they receive their sensory innervation, were autotransplanted to the surface of the spinal cord and the nerve stump anastomosed to the central stump of a transected lumbar ventral root. Between 4 and 5 months later the grafts were studied by electron microscopy. Ventral root axons regenerated through the endoneurial tubes of the grafted nerve to reach the corpuscles, most of which became reinnervated by one to three myelinated fibres. The fibres lost their myelin sheaths before entering the inner core, branched, and gave rise to multiple terminals in the inner core. The regenerated terminals were packed with spherical synaptic vesicles and closely resembled normal motor nerve terminals. Thus motor axons are able to reinnervate Pacinian corpuscles but the structural characteristics of the terminals are apparently not modified by the alien target tissue. This finding contrasts with previous studies, in which it was found that terminals of the central axons of large dorsal root ganglion cells, induced to reinnervate Pacinian corpuscles, displayed the structural characteristics of peripheral sensory endings rather than those of dorsal root terminals in the spinal cord.

Animals↗