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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1987

[Mediator and modulatory systems of the autonomic ganglia].

Autonomic ganglia are the complex functional systems within which the information coming through the preganglionic "input" is transformed and transferred to the postganglionic "output". The scientific papers of last years devoted to the investigation of the classical cholinergic and adrenergic and nowadays intensively investigated the so-called "noncholinergic-nonadrenergic" mediatory systems in autonomic ganglia are analysed in this review. The main classical and putative neurotransmitters, complex functional transmitter interactions and their role in the adaptive ganglionic transmission regulation in vivo are considered. The questions of modulatory processes in autonomic ganglia realizing with the help of regulatory peptides are under special consideration.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

Estrogen receptors in the spinal cord, sensory ganglia, and pelvic autonomic ganglia.

Until relatively recently, most studies of the effects of estradiol in the nervous system focused on hypothalamic, limbic, and other brain centers involved in reproductive hormone output, feedback, and behaviors. Almost no studies addressed estradiol effects at the spinal cord or peripheral nervous system level. Prior to the mid-1960s-1970s, few studies examined neural components of reproductive endocrine organs (e.g., ovary or testis) or the genital organs (e.g., uterus or penis) because available data supported endocrine regulation of these structures. Over the last two decades interest in and studies on the innervation of the genital organs have burgeoned. Because of the responsiveness of genital organs to sex steroid hormones, these neural studies seeded interest in whether or not autonomic and sensory neurons that innervate these organs, along with their attendant spinal cord circuits, also are responsive to sex hormones. From the mid-1980s there has been a steady growth of interest in, and studies of the neuroanatomy, neurochemistry, neural connectivity, and neural functional aspects in reproductive organs and the response of these parameters to sex steroids. Thus, with the growth of probes and techniques, has come studies of anatomy, neurochemistry, and circuitry of sex hormone-responsive neurons and circuits in the spinal cord and peripheral nervous system. This review focuses on estrogen receptors in sensory, autonomic, and spinal cord neurons in locales that are associated with innervation of female reproductive organs.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

Some nerve endings in the rat pelvic paracervical autonomic ganglia and varicosities in the uterus contain calcitonin gene-related peptide and originate from dorsal root ganglia.

The pelvic paracervical autonomic ganglia of female rats were studied for a subpopulation of nerve endings that could be derived from sensory nerve fibers. Immunohistochemical staining using an antiserum against the synaptic-terminal protein synapsin I was used to identify terminal boutons, while an antiserum against the neuropeptide calcitonin gene-related peptide was used to reveal a subpopulation of sensory nerve fibers. The uterine cervix was also examined for the existence of calcitonin gene-related peptide and synapsin I immunoreactivity in nerve fiber varicosities. In addition, the location of nerve endings in the paracervical ganglion was compared to that in the superior cervical ganglion. Synapsin I immunoreactivity was present in the paracervical ganglion in abundant boutons around neuron somata and in the cervix in varicose nerve fibers of the myometrium, vasculature and epithelium. Double labeling immunocytochemistry revealed calcitonin gene-related peptide-like immunoreactivity in subpopulations of synapsin I-immunoreactive endings in ganglia and nerve varicosities in the cervix. Injection of a retrograde axonal tracer, fluorogold, into the paracervical ganglion produced labeled neurons in dorsal root ganglia and spinal cord; however, fluorogold-labeled neurons containing calcitonin gene-related peptide immunoreactivity were visualized only in dorsal root ganglia. Injections of fluorogold into the uterine cervix produced labeled neurons in the paracervical ganglion and dorsal root ganglia; however, only those in dorsal root ganglia contained immunoreactivity for calcitonin gene-related peptide. These results suggest that immunoreactivity for calcitonin gene-related peptide is present in a subpopulation of nerve endings in the paracervical ganglion and not merely in fibers of passage. The nerve endings in the ganglion and varicosities in the uterine cervix originate from sensory neurons in dorsal root ganglia. The arrangement of endings in the ganglia could play a role in sensory/autonomic interactions for modulation of visceral activity.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Effect of diabetes and aging on human sympathetic autonomic ganglia.

Although autonomic dysfunction frequently complicates the clinical course of patients with diabetes, relatively little is known of its underlying neuropathology. Using experimental animal models as a guide, the prevertebral superior mesenteric (SMG) and paravertebral superior cervical (SCG) sympathetic ganglia have been examined in a series of adult autopsied diabetic and non-diabetic patients of various ages using histochemical, ultrastructural, morphometric, and immunohistochemical methods. Quantitative studies demonstrated that markedly swollen argyrophilic terminal axons (neuroaxonal dystrophy) containing large numbers of disorganized neurofilaments developed in the SMG but not SCG as a function of diabetes, increasing age, and gender (males were more severely affected than females). As in experimental animals, diabetic (types I and II) patients developed histologically identical lesions prematurely and in greater numbers than age-matched nondiabetic patients. Morphometric studies showed a small but statistically significant decrease in neuronal density in the SMG but not SCG of diabetic patients. The dimensions of individual sympathetic neurons were not significantly different in aging or diabetes. The pathological lesions identified in the SMG may contribute to the autonomic dysfunction so commonly observed in diabetic patients.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

Unusual autonomic ganglia: connections, chemistry, and plasticity of pelvic ganglia.

The pelvic ganglia provide the majority of the autonomic nerve supply to reproductive organs, urinary bladder, and lower bowel. Of all autonomic ganglia, they are probably the least understood because in many species their anatomy is particularly complex. Furthermore, they are unusual autonomic ganglia in many ways, including their connections, structure, chemistry, and hormone sensitivity. This review will compare and contrast the normal structure and function of pelvic ganglia with other types of autonomic ganglia (sympathetic, parasympathetic, and enteric). Two aspects of plasticity in the pelvic pathways will also be discussed. First, the influence of gonadal steroids on the maturation and maintenance of pelvic reflex circuits will be considered. Second, the consequences of nerve injury will be discussed, particularly in the context of the pelvic ganglia receiving distributed spinal inputs. The review demonstrates that in many ways the pelvic ganglia differ substantially from other autonomic ganglia. Pelvic ganglia may also provide a useful system in which to study many fundamental neurobiological questions of broader relevance.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Differential accumulation of herpes simplex virus type 1 latency-associated transcripts in sensory and autonomic ganglia.

We have analyzed the capacity of sensory and autonomic ganglia to demonstrate latency-associated transcripts (LATs) following inoculation of the anterior chamber of the mouse eye with Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1). In autonomic ganglia, the number of LAT-containing neurons decreased 50-fold or more from the acute to the latent phase, while in the trigeminal ganglion, the decrease was less than 2-fold. The decrease in autonomic ganglia could not be related to destruction of neurons expressing LATs, since these ganglia harbored substantial amounts of viral DNA. The data demonstrate that during the latent phase of the infection, accumulation of LATs varies depending on the type of infected neuron and suggest that some neurons may harbor a latent infection in the absence of LAT expression.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Cardiac neurones of autonomic ganglia.

The properties of the postganglionic sympathetic neurones supplying the heart and arising in the stellate and adjacent paravertebral ganglia of various species are discussed with respect to their location, morphology, synaptic input and membrane characteristics. Results from our laboratory on the morphology of rat stellate neurones projecting to the heart were obtained either by intracellular injection of hexammine cobaltic (III) chloride or by retrograde labelling of cells using cobalt-lysine complex. Intracellular recordings were made from cells using electrodes filled either with potassium chloride plus hexammine cobaltic chloride or potassium acetate. Neurones which projected axons into cardiac nerve branches arising from the stellate ganglion were termed putative cardiac neurones, because of the possibility that some supply pulmonary targets. Putative cardiac neurones had unbranched axons and were ovoid or polygonal in shape, but showed considerable variation in soma size and in the complexity of dendritic trees. The mean two-dimensional surface area was 463 microns2 and the mean number of primary dendrites was seven. Other studies have found that the morphology of rat stellate ganglion neurones is similar to that of superior cervical ganglion cells. However, in strains of rat displaying spontaneous hypertension, dendritic length may be increased. Histochemical studies do not, as yet, seem to have demonstrated a distinctive neurochemical profile for stellate cardiac neurones, but various types of peptide-containing intraganglionic nerve fibres have been identified in the guinea pig. In our electrophysiological studies, putative cardiac neurones were found to receive a complex presynaptic input arising from the caudal sympathetic trunk and from T1 and T2 thoracic rami. In addition, 16% of cardiac neurones received a synaptic input from the cardiac nerve. The properties of postganglionic parasympathetic neurones distributed in the cardiac plexus and termed intrinsic cardiac neurones are discussed, including the results of studies on cultures of these neurones.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

Calretinin-immunoreactive nerves in the uterus, pelvic autonomic ganglia, lumbosacral dorsal root ganglia and lumbosacral spinal cord.

Nerves containing the calcium-binding protein calretinin have been reported in several organs but not in female reproductive organs and associated ganglia. This study was undertaken to determine if nerves associated with the uterus contain calretinin and the source(s) of calretinin-synthesizing nerves in the rat (are they sensory, efferent, or both?). Calretinin-immunoreactive nerves were present in the uterine horns and cervix where they were associated with arteries, uterine smooth muscle, glands, and the epithelium. Calretinin-immunoreactive terminals were apposed to neurons in the paracervical ganglia; in addition, some postganglionic neurons in this ganglion were calretinin positive. Calretinin perikarya were present in the lumbosacral dorsal root ganglia, no-dose ganglia, and lumbosacral spinal cord. Retrograde axonal tracing, utilizing Fluorogold injected into the uterus or paracervical parasympathetic ganglia, revealed calretinin-positive/Fluorogold-labeled neurons in the dorsal root and nodose ganglia. Also, capsaicin treatment substantially reduced the calretinin-positive fibers in the uterus and pelvic ganglia, thus indicating the sensory nature of these fibers. The presence of calretinin immunoreactivity identifies a subset of nerves that are involved in innervation of the pelvic viscera and have origins from lumbosacral dorsal root ganglia and vagal nodose ganglia. Though the exact function of calretinin in these nerves is not currently known, calretinin is likely to play a role in calcium regulation and their function.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Axonal cytoskeletal pathology in aged and diabetic human sympathetic autonomic ganglia.

Prevertebral sympathetic ganglia develop markedly enlarged argyrophilic neurites as a function of age, gender and diabetes. Immunolocalization studies demonstrate their preferential labeling with antisera to highly phosphorylated 200 kDa neurofilament (NF-H) epitopes, NPY, peripherin and synapsin I, but not to hypophosphorylated NF-M and NF-H or MAP-2. The immunophenotype of dystrophic neurites in conjunction with the results of histochemical and ultrastructural studies are consistent with the terminal axonal and/or synaptic origin of neuritic dystrophy in the sympathetic ganglia of aged and diabetic human subjects.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

Defects in sensory and autonomic ganglia and absence of locus coeruleus in mice deficient for the homeobox gene Phox2a.

Phox2a is a vertebrate homeodomain protein expressed in subsets of differentiating neurons. Here, we show that it is essential for proper development of the locus coeruleus, a subset of sympathetic and parasympathetic ganglia and the VIIth, IXth, and Xth cranial sensory ganglia. In the sensory ganglia, we have identified two differentiation blocks in Phox2a-/- mice. First, the transient expression of dopamine-beta-hydroxylase in neuroblasts is abolished, providing evidence that Phox2a controls noradrenergic traits in vivo. Second, the expression of the GDNF receptor subunit Ret is dramatically reduced, and there is a massive increase in apoptosis of ganglion cells, which are known to depend on GDNF in vivo. Therefore, Phox2a appears to regulate conventional differentiation traits and the ability of neurons to respond to essential survival factors.

Animals↗
PubMed1982

Substance P: a putative sensory transmitter in mammalian autonomic ganglia.

Repetitive presynaptic stimulation elicited slow membrane depolarization in neurons of inferior mesenteric ganglia from guinea pigs. This response was not blocked by cholinergic antagonists but was specifically and reversibly inhibited by a substance P analog, (D-Pro2, D-Phe7, D-Trp9)-substance P, which also depressed the depolarization induced by exogenously applied substance P. The atropine-sensitive slow excitatory and slow inhibitory postsynaptic potentials evoked in neurons of rabbit superior cervical ganglia were not affected by the substance P analog. These and previous results provide strong support for the hypothesis that substance P or a closely related peptide is the transmitter mediating the slow depolarization. The latter may represent a sensory input from the gastrointestinal tract to neurons of the prevertebral ganglia.

Action Potentials↗
PubMed1977

Action of a beta-bungarotoxin on autonomic ganglia and adrenergic neurotransmission.

A beta-bungarotoxin was isolated from the venom of Bungarus multicinctus by column chromatography on Sephadex G-50 and SP-Sephadex. The toxin produced presynaptic effects on neuromuscular transmission with characteristics similar to those described by others. In a sympathetic ganglion, the toxin increased spontaneous acetylcholine (ACh) release and decreased ACh release evoked by preganglionic nerve stimulation. The toxin did not block the response of isolated ileum to cholinergic nerve stimulation, did not block the release of noradrenaline from the adrenergic nerve terminals of a nictitating membrane preparation, and did not alter the responses of smooth and cardiac muscle preparations to noradrenaline. It is suggested that the specificity of beta-bungarotoxin for certain nerve terminals is related either to selective binding of the toxin or to the selective presence of a necessary substrate for its action. An attempt to show selective binding of 125I-toxin to cholinergic nerve terminals in skeletal muscle was not successful.

Acetylcholine↗
PubMed1983

Synaptic transmission in thoracic autonomic ganglia of the dog.

Afferent stimulation of one canine thoracic cardiopulmonary nerve can generate compound action potentials in another ipsilateral cardiopulmonary nerve. These compound action potentials persist after acute decentralization of the middle cervical ganglion, indicating that they result from neural activity in the middle cervical ganglion and thoracic nerves. Changing the frequency of stimulation can alter the compound action potentials, suggesting that temporal facilitation or inhibition occurs in this middle cervical ganglion preparation. The compound action potentials can be modified by stimulation of sympathetic preganglionic fibers and by hexamethonium, atropine, phentolamine, propranolol, and (or) manganese. It thus appears that afferent cardiopulmonary nerves can activate efferent cardiopulmonary nerves via synaptic mechanisms in the stellate and middle cervical ganglia. It also appears that these mechanisms involve adrenergic and cholinergic receptors and are influenced by preganglionic sympathetic fibers arising from the cord.

Action Potentials↗
PubMed1980

Development and aging of cholinergic synapses. II. Continuous growth of acetylcholine and choline levels in autonomic ganglia and iris of the chick.

We have followed the pattern of variation in the endogenous levels of acetylcholine (ACh) and choline (Ch) in sympathetic (lumbar) and parasympathetic (ciliary) ganglia, and in the iris of the chick from 1 to 7 years of age. Levels of ACh and Ch seem to undergo a continuous process of growth which is initiated in the first week of embryonic development and continues into adulthood up to 2 years of age. The early increase in ACh and Ch levels are most marked in the ciliary ganglion. In the ciliary ganglion, morphological and biochemical observations show that this period corresponds to one of 'continuous synaptic growth'. In a second period starting around 2 years, which can be defined as one of 'synaptic regression', a phase of progressive and marked decrease in ACh and Ch levels is visible in all three organs examined. In all three organs Ch levels parallel rather well the ACh levels, but the Ch/ACh ratio progressively decreased from 1 to 7 years from 3.5 to 1.5 (ciliary ganglia and iris) and from 2.5 to 1 (sympathetic ganglia). The low levels of ACh reached at 7 years in the three organs have clear implications with regard to physiology of aging cholinergic synapses.

Acetylcholine↗