scispace - formally typeset
Search or ask a question

Showing papers on "Nervous system published in 1980"



Journal ArticleDOI
20 Mar 1980-Nature
TL;DR: The capacity of transected axons originating in the CNS to regrow into nerve grafts containing Schwann cells is examined and it is found that these axonal sprouts form sprouts after injury in mammals and some fish and amphibians.
Abstract: Axons in the peripheral nervous system (PNS) and central nervous system (CNS) form sprouts after injury. Elongation of regenerating axonal sprouts has been observed as the exception within the adult mammalian CNS but is the rule in the PNS of mammals as well as in the CNS of some fish and amphibians. The relative importance of intrinsic neuronal properties and axonal environment in determining the extent of axonal regrowth is unknown. Neuroglial cells, nerve growth factor and target tissues such as smooth muscle are known to influence neuronal responses to injury. Here we have examined the capacity of transected axons originating in the CNS to regrow into nerve grafts containing Schwann cells.

957 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
10 Oct 1980-Science
TL;DR: Reduction of the number of axons that contact target cells may be a general feature of neural development and underlie the progressively restricted malleability of the maturing nervous system.
Abstract: Reduction of the number of axons that contact target cells may be a general feature of neural development. This process may underlie the progressively restricted malleability of the maturing nervous system.

756 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The enteric nervous system is one of the three divisions of the autonomic nervousSystem, the others being the sympathetic and parasympathetic, and can perform many functions independently of the central nervous system.

631 citations


Book ChapterDOI
TL;DR: This chapter takes a view of biogenic amines in the insect nervous system and to assess critically the evidence for their roles as neurotransmitters, neuromodulators and neurohormones.
Abstract: Publisher Summary This chapter takes a view of biogenic amines in the insect nervous system and to assess critically the evidence for their roles as neurotransmitters, neuromodulators and neurohormones. It attempts to answer several questions such as where biogenic amines are located in the insect nervous system; how are they synthesized and inactivated; and what physiological roles do they perform and how do they bring about their effects. Particular emphasis is placed on the correlation of biochemical, physiological, pharmacological and anatomical information from systems containing identified aminergic neurones. The chapter points out instances where data from one or more of the approaches is either missing or conflicts with that from another and suggests experiments to resolve these points. The function of biogenic amines in the insect nervous system has been compared with that in the vertebrate nervous system. In this context the chapter mentions the role of biogenic amines as chemical messengers in the vertebrate nervous system.

596 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The observed codistribution of alpha 2 receptors with opiate receptors would provide an explanation of the observation that alpha 2 agonists block opiate withdrawal.
Abstract: [3H]WB-4101 and p-[3H]aminoclonidine were used for light microscopic autoradiographic localization of alpha 1 and alpha 2 adrenergic receptors, respectively, in the rat brain. The binding of these ligands to slide-mounted tissue sections had all of the characteristics associated with alpha 1 and alpha 2 receptors. It was saturable with appropriate kinetic constants and was blocked only by other alpha-adrenergic drugs with the appropriate potency. Autoradiographic studies revealed a distribution of alpha-adrenergic receptors throughout the nervous system. Certain areas had elevated levels. These included parts of the olfactory bulb and nucleus, parts of the cerebral cortex and dentate gyrus, the more medial portions of the hypothalamus and thalamus, the locus ceruleus and nucleus tractus solitarii, and parts of the spinal cord. In certain areas, the distribution of alpha 1 and alpha 2 receptors was markedly different. These results provide some rational basis for the observed actions of alpha-adrenergic drugs on the central nervous system. For example, the finding of high densities of alpha 2 receptors in the nucleus tractus solitarii is most likely related to its antihypertensive action. The observed codistribution of alpha 2 receptors with opiate receptors would provide an explanation of the observation that alpha 2 agonists block opiate withdrawal. The results are also discussed in relationship to the anatomy of catecholamine systems in the brain.

406 citations



Journal ArticleDOI
10 Jan 1980-Nature
TL;DR: The shiverer mouse is unique in showing a striking alteration in myelin protein composition that does not significantly affect the gross morphology and lamellar organisation of the myelin sheath, and this results question the proposed role of basic proteins15–19 in Myelin as ‘structural cement’.
Abstract: The myelin sheath is a multilamellar membrane system which surrounds axons in vertebrates and provides the electrical insulation necessary for saltatory nerve impulse conduction. Myelin forms from its cell of origin as a flattened, membrane-bound cytoplasmic process which wraps spirally around the axon; a periodic compact array of membrane pairs is produced from the wrappings as the cytoplasmic contents are extruded, and the external surfaces of membranes become apposed1,2. Neurological mutant mice which show myelin abnormalities are useful models for examining the formation, stability and breakdown of myelin. For example, the shiverer mouse carries an autosomal recessive mutation3 (shi)4 that results in severe myelin deficiency in the central nervous system (CNS)5,6, apparently due to a defect in myelin formation5,6. The small amount of myelin that does form in the CNS is generally not compacted at its cytoplasmic surfaces6, possibly due to the low level of basic protein in shiverer CNS tissue7. In the peripheral nervous system (PNS), in contrast, amounts of compact myelin seem to be normal6. The coarse tremor and convulsions that begin at about 2 weeks of age in the shiverer are presumably due to the severe CNS deficiency of myelin, as similar neurological signs are shown by other mutants with reduced CNS myelin8. Most studies on such mutants have concentrated on those regions of the nervous system which are grossly deficient in myelin5–10. In the other regions myelin seems by light microscopy to be normal. At the ultrastructural and molecular level, however, this myelin sometimes shows abnormalities11–14, and this has prompted us to examine intensively such myelin in several neurological mutants. For this we have used X-ray diffraction, electron microscopy and SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). We report here that, of the mutants we have examined so far, the shiverer mouse is unique in showing a striking alteration in myelin protein composition that does not significantly affect the gross morphology and lamellar organisation of the myelin sheath. Our results thus question the proposed role of basic proteins15–19 in myelin as ‘structural cement’.

226 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Adult rats immunized with 2.5S mouse nerve growth factor produced antibodies which cross-reacted with rat NGF, suggesting that mature peripheral sympathetic neurons remain dependent on NGF for survival as well as for maintenance.

211 citations



Journal ArticleDOI
24 Jul 1980-Nature
TL;DR: The presence of S100 protein is reported in five of seven continuous cell lines of human malignant melanoma, indicating a close immunological relationship among a wide variety of vertebrates.
Abstract: S100 protein, so called because of its solubility in 100% saturated ammonium sulphate1, is an acidic cytoplasmic protein specific for the nervous system2,3. It is localized primarily to glial elements of the brain, Schwann cells in the peripheral nervous system and satellite cells in sympathetic ganglia4,5. This brain-specific protein shows a close immunological relationship among a wide variety of vertebrates, as measured by a quantitative complement fixation technique6. Although strict serological conservation and tissue localization have been maintained among different species, no function for S100 protein has been determined. However, the appearance of S100 protein in brain is correlated with maturation of the nervous system in both rat and man7,8. Previous in vitro studies on the production and regulation of S100 protein in the C6 cell line derived from a rat astrocytoma indicated that cell contact and cessation of division induced S100 protein9. Neuroblastoma cell lines lack this protein10,11 although it is found in other astrocyte cell lines. We are unaware of any reports of cell lines, other than those of glial origin, which produce S100 protein. Melanocytes are derived from neuroectodermal elements, and this common origin of glial cells and melanocytes prompted us to study whether S100 protein might be present in cell lines from human malignant melanomas. We now report the presence of S100 protein in five of seven continuous cell lines of human malignant melanoma.

Journal ArticleDOI
11 Sep 1980-Nature
TL;DR: It is reported here that thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) acts within the CNS to elicit a vagus-dependent stimulation of gastric acid secretion.
Abstract: Much physiological and pharmacological evidence has accumulated to suggest that the autonomie nervous system has an important role in the peripheral modulation of gastric secretion1, although the neurochemical mediators in the brain which initiate or modulate autonomie input are poorly understood1–4. Recently, the demonstration that some oligopeptides present in mammalian brain act in the central nervous system (CNS) to influence profoundly glucoregulation5, thermoregulation6,7, blood pressure8,9, sympathetic outflow9–11, muscular activity of gut12,13 and stress-induced gastric haemorrhagic lesions14 have led us to examine a possible role for some of these endogenous brain oligopeptides as chemical messengers involved in the CNS modulation of gastric secretion. We report here that thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) acts within the CNS to elicit a vagus-dependent stimulation of gastric acid secretion.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: It is suggested that the comparatively greater ability of fish to regenerate their nervous system after injury may be related in part to their ability to add neurons to various parts of the nervous system throughout life.
Abstract: The numbers of 1) dorsal root ganglion cells in the 2nd spinal segment, 2) ventral horn cells in the 2nd spinal segment, 3) Purkinje cells of the cerebellum, and 4) neurons in the nucleus glomerulosus were counted and correlated with age and size in the guppy, Lebistes. The findings were that the neuronal numbers in all these areas increased throughout much of the life of the animal. These data, combined with the previously demonstrated increases in retinal neurons in goldfish and sensory and spinal neurons in stingrays, suggest that neurons are added to many areas of the nervous system of fish as the animal ages and grows. In this respect, the nervous systems of fish differ from the nervous systems of other vertebrates. We offer the suggestion that the comparatively greater ability of fish to regenerate their nervous system after injury may be related in part to their ability to add neurons to various parts of the nervous system throughout life.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In non-cephalic reference recordings, the scalp recorded short latency evoked potentials to median nerve stimulation in normal subjects consist of 3 positive potentials followed by a negative potential, which suggests that this potential arises primarily in brain stem pathways.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The presence of the nervous system-specific S-100 antigen has been tested by microcomplement fixation assay with a monospecific anti-S-100 antiserum in cerebrospinal fluid of subjects suffering from psychiatric disorders or various neurological diseases.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In preparations in which an N ectoteloblast was injected with HRP after production of its bandlet of n stem cells had begun, the boundary between unstained (rostral) and stained (caudal) tissues can fall within a ganglion or between ganglia, which suggests that each hemiganglion contains the descendants of more than one, and probably two, n stem Cells.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Neuroanatomical and electrophysical techniques demonstrate that while retinal ganglion cells of the California newt Taricha torosa are incapable of firing impulses, they develop normally, grow axons to the host tectum, terminate in the appropriate neuropil layers, form synapses, and project to the tECTum retinotopically.
Abstract: The California newt Taricha torosa manufactures tetrodotoxin, a blocker of voltage-sensitive sodium channels and therefore of action potentials. The newt's own nervous system is insensitive to this toxin. Grafting an embryonic eye to the newt from a tetrodotoxin-sensitive species, the Mexican axolotl, blocks action potentials in the retinal ganglion cells of the transplanted eye. Neuroanatomical and electrophysical techniques demonstrate that while such ganglion cells are incapable of firing impulses, they develop normally, grow axons to the host tectum, terminate in the appropriate neuropil layers, form synapses, and project to the tectum retinotopically. Furthermore, they develop these apparently normal projections even in competition with electrically active axons from a host eye.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The results indicated that D2 may be involved in neurite-neurite interaction, a property which has been reported for the cell adhesion molecule (CAM) isolated from chick embryo neural tissue, and raise the possibility that D 2 and CAM may be evolutionarily related proteins.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Postmortem brain frozen at the time of autopsy has been collected from patients dying with HD and compared with postmortem brain from psychotic patients and cases without neuropsychiatric disease, and a number of alterations in neurotransmitters and their biosynthetic enzymes have been found.
Abstract: Huntington's disease (HD), a dominantly inherited disorder of the nervous system, is usually manifest about middle age by dance-like movements. The disorder may occur in children, when epilepsy and rigidity may be the predominant signs. Degeneration of neurons occurs throughout the whole brain, but this is most marked in the basal ganglia. Neurochemical examination of postmortem brain frozen at the time of autopsy has been collected from patients dying with HD and compared with postmortem brain from psychotic patients and cases without neuropsychiatric disease. A number of alterations in neurotransmitters and their biosynthetic enzymes have been found. There are decreased concentrations of the neuroinhibitory transmitter gamma aminobutyric acid and this is associated with increased concentrations of dopamine and serotonin in the basal ganglia. In addition, there is decreased activity of glutamic acid decarboxylase, choline acetyltransferase, angiotensin-converting enzyme, as well as a decreased concentration of the neuropeptide substance P. Various pharmacologic agents have been tried based on the neurochemical alterations, but nothing has been found to be superior to the various neuroleptics in common use.

Journal ArticleDOI
27 Nov 1980-Nature
TL;DR: It is reported that immunohistochemical staining of sympathetic ganglia shows that LHRH-like immunoreactivity is indeed present in synaptic boutons, and that the two types of ganglion cells receive strikingly different patterns of peptidergic innervation.
Abstract: In sympathetic ganglia of the bullfrog, a slow synaptic potential lasting for minutes—the late slow excitatory postsynaptic potential (epsp)—was discovered1 This slow response, unlike other previously known synaptic potentials in the autonomie nervous system, is not mediated by acetylcholine or monoamines Similar non-cholinergic, non-adrenergic slow synaptic potentials have since been found in several other vertebrate autonomie ganglia2 We found that the late slow epsp is probably mediated by a peptide that is identical to, or closely resembles, mammalian luteinizing hormone releasing hormone (LHRH)3, because (1) when applied directly to sympathetic neurones, LHRH and its agonists elicit a slow depolarization, associated with similar changes in membrane conductance and excitability as those occurring during the late slow epsp Furthermore, both peptide-induced and nerve-evoked responses are blocked by antagonists of LHRH; and (2) radioimmunoassays indicate that a chain of sympathetic ganglia contains 100–800 pg of a LHRH-like peptide Its distribution among spinal nerves, the great reduction of this substance following denervation, and its release from ganglia following isotonic KCl treatment or nerve stimulation suggest that the LHRH-like material is contained in preganglionic nerve fibres Here we report that immunohistochemical staining of sympathetic ganglia shows that LHRH-like immunoreactivity is indeed present in synaptic boutons We also show that the two types of ganglion cells (B cells and C cells) receive strikingly different patterns of peptidergic innervation

Book ChapterDOI
TL;DR: This chapter addresses the general question of how growing nerve fibers may be governed by both intracellular properties and extracellular cues and how the activities of these fibers may are important to the development of the nervous system.
Abstract: Publisher Summary This chapter addresses the general question of how growing nerve fibers may be governed by both intracellular properties and extracellular cues and how the activities of these fibers may be important to the development of the nervous system. It focuses on Harrison's original speculations on the significance of the growth cone and its two modes of regulation. The chapter highlights the morphology of nerve fibers and growth cones. When fragments of nervous tissue are dissociated into suspensions of single cells and then cultured under appropriate conditions, one can initially observe cells of different types. Nonneuronal cells, which may include several varieties of supportive cells, generally assume a fibroblastic or epithelial morphology. Freshly dissociated neurons, however, are distinctly different in morphology, appearing smooth and round or ovoid in contour, with a large, often eccentrically placed nucleus and perhaps one or more stubs of nerve fibers broken during the process of dissociation. Intrinsic and extrinsic regulation of neuronal behavior has been discussed.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The numerous nervous system abnormalities which follow antecedent infections and immunizations appear to share a common pathogenesis involving the immune system, and delayed hypersensitivity to myelin basic protein may not adequately account for these changes.
Abstract: The numerous nervous system abnormalities which follow antecedent infections and immunizations appear to share a common pathogenesis involving the immune system. Pathologically, a small vessel vasculopathy involving arterioles and capillaries as well as venules in both gray and white matter is the earliest and most consistent change. Perivascular demyelination appears to develop subsequently. Delayed hypersensitivity to myelin basic protein may not adequately account for these changes. Humoral immunity may be involved instead. I postulate that antigen-antibody complexes, formed following the introduction of foreign antigen by infection or inoculation, cause vascular injury with secondary damage to myelin. There is considerable evidence that circulating immune complexes are present in some postinfectious nervous system disorders, as are associated systemic features which suggest immune complex disease. Similar clinical and pathological nervous system changes occur in a variety of disorders in which circulating immune complexes are thought to cause vascular injury.

Journal ArticleDOI
03 Jul 1980-Nature
TL;DR: The stimulation of mechanoreceptor bristles at different positions on the notum and legs of Drosophila specifically evoke different behavioural responses, which depends on the segmental and in some cases on the compartmental identity of the bristle, but not on the site of entry of the axon into the central nervous system.
Abstract: The function of the nervous system depends on the formation of a net of appropriate connections. This process must be at least partly under genetic control, yet the genetic analysis of the development of specific nerve connections has so far made little progress (reviewed in ref. 1). This is in part because of the immense complexity of the connective net. The problem is simpler in the case of insect secondary neurones which are derived from the epidermis and send their axons centripetally towards the central nervous system2. The arrangement of sense organs on the body surface is very reproducible in many cases, so that given neurones can be recognized unambiguously in different individuals. In Drosophila, the genetic analysis of development has so far concentrated on the epidermis. The genetic control of segmentation is relatively well understood3,4 and it has been found that segments are progressively subdivided in smaller developmental units called compartments5. This led to the speculation that sensory neurones belonging to different compartments might have different properties6. Here we show that the stimulation of mechanoreceptor bristles at different positions on the notum and legs of Drosophila specifically evoke different behavioural responses. This specificity depends on the segmental and in some cases on the compartmental identity of the bristle, but not on the site of entry of the axon into the central nervous system.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The results suggest that the unlabeled antibody enzyme (peroxidase‐antiperosidase) method will be useful in studying the cellular distribution of myelin components in human demyelinating diseases.
Abstract: To study the distribution of basic protein (BP) and other myelin constituents immunocytochemically in human nervous tissue, we modified the unlabeled antibody enzyme (peroxidase-antiperosidase) method. The technique is described here. Because the availability of unfixed tissue from human central nervous system is limited, we tested the method on blocks that had been fixed in formalin and embedded in paraffin, fixed and stored in 4% formalin, or frozen at autopsy and stored. We obtained the best results with paraffin blocks. BP antiserum scained oligodendroglia and myelin sheaths in the developing human nervous system. In the adult, myelin sheaths were well stained. Also, abnormalities associated with myelin breakdown could be identified in multiple sclerosis lesions. The results suggest that this method will be useful in studying the cellular distribution of myelin components in human demyelinating diseases.

Journal ArticleDOI
20 Mar 1980-Nature
TL;DR: It is reported here that rat dorsal root ganglia incorporate 35S-methionine into substance P, characterised as authentic by immunoprecipitation followed by HPLC, suggesting that, in dorsalRoot ganglia, substance P is synthesised by a conventional ribosomal process.
Abstract: Substance P (Arg-Pro-Lys-Pro-Gln-Gln-Phe-Phe-Gly-Leu-Met-NH2) may be used as a neurotransmitter by certain primary afferent neurones1,2, particularly those carrying pain impulses3–7. Substance P-like immunoreactivity has been localised to the cell bodies of one population of dorsal root ganglion neurones by immunocytochemistry8. It is contained in vesicles9,10 in the central terminals of these neurones8, and has also been demonstrated in the peripheral terminals11,12. As axons and terminals have very little capacity for peptide biosynthesis13, it is possible that substance P is synthesised and packaged in the perikaryon and transported to the terminals by an axoplasmic transport process. Consistent with this is the finding that substance P accumulates proximal to a ligature placed on the dorsal root14. There has, however, been no direct demonstration of the biosynthesis of substance P in the nervous system. We report here that rat dorsal root ganglia incorporate 35S-methionine into substance P, characterised as authentic by immunoprecipitation followed by HPLC. There is a delay of 1–2 h between addition of label and its incorporation into substance P. Synthesis is blocked by cycloheximide suggesting that, in dorsal root ganglia, substance P is synthesised by a conventional ribosomal process. Synthesis of substance P is reduced by some 90% in ganglia from rats treated neonatally with capsaicin, a drug which is thought to destroy a population of primary afferent neurones15.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Sodium fluorescein was used as a very small tracer to examine diffusion barriers in peripheral nerves and to compare them to those in other regions of the nervous system.
Abstract: Sodium fluorescein (SF) was used as a very small tracer (mol wt 376; 5 A° diameter) to examine diffusion barriers in peripheral nerves and to compare them to those in other regions of the nervous system. The technique involved immobilization of the tracer by rapid freezing, followed by freezedrying and vacuum embedding in paraffin. The localization of the SF was then determined in tissue sections using fluorescence microscopy. Even at the highest doses of intravenously (IV) injected tracer, no extravasation could be detected in the cerebral cortex. On the other hand, SF penetrated very rapidly into peripheral ganglia and into the epineurium and perineurium of large peripheral nerves. The penetration of SF into the endoneurium of large nerves was, however, much more restricted with tracer detectable within the endoneurium only at high doses and long survival times. Even in such cases, the level of SF fluorescence was much lower within nerve fascicles than in the epineurium and the perineurium, and a sharp gradient in fluorescence intensity persisted at the inner border of the perineurium. The extent of extravasation into the endoneurium varied markedly between different fascicles of the same nerve and between different nerves in the same animal. Experiments involving injection of high doses of SF adjacent to the nerve indicated relatively little movement of SF across the perineurium, which indicates that the observed accumulation of tracer within the endoneurium was the result of direct extravasation of SF from the endoneural blood vessels. Small nerve branches (< 100 μ in diameter) showed an earlier and more extensive penetration of SF into the endoneurium than large nerves like the sciatic, hypoglossal, or ventral tail nerve. This may be due to a diffusion of SF along the extracellular space of the endoneurium from nerve terminals where the perineurial barrier is open-ended. In experiments involving IV injection of a solution containing both green fluorescent SF and red fluorescent Evans Blue (Evans Blue-serum albumin complex, EBA = mol wt 69,000), the distribution of SF could be directly compared at various sites and sacrifice times to that of EBA, a much larger tracer. SF appeared more rapidly and extensively than EBA in the various compartments in ganglia and peripheral nerve. The distribution of EBA was the same as is typically seen when this tracer is injected alone, indicating that there was no change in vascular permeability associated with IV injection of SF. Since SF is of very small size, freely diffusible, nontoxic, and detectable at very low concentrations, it should be a useful complement to existing tracers. When tissues are processed according to the indicated procedure, one can obtain a very sensitive and reliable localization of this tracer which should be of value for studies in the nervous system concerning various pathological conditions associated with permeability alterations.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: It is suggested that elucidation of different types of coexistence phenomena may advance the understanding of chemical transmission at synapses under normal and pathological conditions, and may lead to new approaches to the treatment of some nervous disorders.
Abstract: By means of the immunohistochemical technique of Coons and collaborators, numerous peptide-containing neurons have been observed in the brain, spinal cord and periphery. These neurons may contain peptides such as substance P, vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP), enkephalin or somatostatin. Some systems are very extensive. For example, immunoreactive substance P has been observed in more than 30 cell groups in the central nervous system, in primary sensory neurons, in sensory neurons in the vagus nerve and in taste buds, and in intestinal neurons. Thus, one and the same peptide can be utilized at many different levels in the nervous system. Several examples are now known where a regulatory peptide occurs together with a classical transmitter, such as a catecholamine, in the same neuron, which suggests the possibility that a neuron can release more than one transmitter substance. Of particular interest is the occurrence of VIP in presumed cholinergic neurons innervating exocrine glands in the cat, and the coexistence of a cholecystokinin (CCK)-like peptide in dopamine neurons projecting mainly to limbic areas. In the former system VIP seems to be responsible mainly for vasodilation, whereas acetylcholine mainly causes secretion. Furthermore, combined infusion of both substances in very low doses results in a marked potentiation of the secretory and vasodilatory responses. Thus, we have an example where two putative transmitters, released from the same nerve endings, seem to cooperate to activate a physiological response (secretion). With regard to the central CCK/dopamine neurons the type of interaction between the two coexisting transmitter candidates is at present unclear. It is suggested that elucidation of different types of coexistence phenomena may advance our understanding of chemical transmission at synapses under normal and pathological conditions, and may lead to new approaches to the treatment of some nervous disorders.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Findings indicate that specific neurons in the human fetus have at least one of the enzymes necessary for the biosynthesis of catecholamines and that cross‐species reactivity exists between antiserum produced to the bovine tyrosine hydroxylase and human tissues.
Abstract: The peroxidase-antiperoxidase (PAP) technique is used to determine the cellular localization of tyrosine hydroxylase in the human fetal nervous system. Antiserum to trypsin-treated tyrosine hydroxylase from the bovine adrenal medulla can be detected immunocytochemically in peripheral sympathetic neurons in the 8-mm (5-week) fetus, but can not be detected in the central nervous system until later stages of development. The cytological features and distribution of the neuronal perikarya and processes labeled for the enzyme are similar to those of the catecholaminergic neurons previously identified by histofluorescence. These findings indicate that specific neurons in the human fetus have at least one of the enzymes necessary for the biosynthesis of catecholamines and that cross-species reactivity exists between antiserum produced to the bovine tyrosine hydroxylase and human tissues.

Journal ArticleDOI
01 Mar 1980-Diabetes
TL;DR: The perikaryal volume of motor and sensory neurons was reduced by 18% in diabetic rats and a shift between the number of A- and B-cells was observed in the dorsal root ganglion, leading to suppose that the nervous system abnormalities in early diabetes are not exclusively restricted to the peripheral nerves.
Abstract: The volume of nerve cell bodies of the anterior horn of the fifth lumbar segment and of the fifth lumbar dorsal root ganglion were measured by stereological methods in rats with 4-wk duration of streptozotocin diabetes and in age-matched controls. The perikaryal volume of motor and sensory neurons was reduced by 18% in diabetic rats and a shift between the number of A- and B-cells was observed in the dorsal root ganglion. The findings are in accordance with our earlier observation of reduced axonal size of myelinated fibers in the common peroneal nerve. Furthermore, the data lead us to suppose that the nervous system abnormalities in early diabetes are not exclusively restricted to the peripheral nerves.

Book ChapterDOI
01 Jan 1980
TL;DR: This chapter is primarily concerned with the actions of α- and β-adrenoceptor agonists and antagonists on peripheral autonomic nerves and some β-antagonists such as propranolol are powerful local anaesthetics.
Abstract: This chapter is primarily concerned with the actions of α- and β-adrenoceptor agonists and antagonists on peripheral autonomic nerves. Such drugs may produce effects on these nerves unrelated to their action on α- and β-receptors. For example, many α antagonists block the neuronal uptake of catecholamines (Hertting et al., 1961 b; Iversen, 1965; Gillespie and Kirpekar, 1965), block extraneuronal uptake (Eisenfeld et al., 1967; Avakian and Gillespie, 1968; Cubeddu et al., 1974c) and block uptake into adrenergic storage granules (Euler and Lishajko, 1968). Some β-antagonists such as propranolol are powerful local anaesthetics (Morales-Aquilera and Vaughan- Williams, 1965) and even α-agonists in high enough concentration will act in this way (Starke, 1972 a). α-Antagonists such as phenoxybenzamine can release noradrenaline from adrenergic nerves if the dose is high enough (Axelrod et al., 1962; Cubeddu et al., 1974c), an action dealt with elsewhere in this volume (Westfall, 1977).