Isoenzyme profile of lactate dehydrogenase in the cranial cervical sympathetic ganglion under normal conditions and during synaptic blockade

The isoenzyme profile of lactate dehydrogenase in the cranial cervical sympathetic ganglion of rabbits was studied under normal conditions and during blockade of nicotinic cholinergic synapses. Under normal conditions this profile was presented by 5 isoforms of the enzyme (lactate dehydrogenases 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5). Activity of H-isoforms prevailed. Blockade was accompanied by heterotropic allosteric inhibition of lactate dehydrogenase isoforms. H-and M-isoforms underwent simultaneous changes. Activity of H-isoforms sharply decreased. However, the ratio between lactate dehydrogenases 1 and 2 during complete or partial blockade did not differ from that observed in experiments with the intact ganglion. M-isoforms (lactate dehydrogenases 4 and 5) disappeared during partial blockade. Activity of hybrid lactate dehydrogenase 3 significantly decreased and was undetected during partial and complete blockade, respectively. Our results indicate that enzyme activity and isoenzyme profile of lactate dehydrogenase are determined by function of nicotinic synapses. __________ Translated from Byulleten’ Eksperimental’noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 140, No. 12, pp. 642–644, December, 2005     

Lactate dehydrogenase isoenzymes in sympathetic neurons and satellite gliocytes in normal conditions and in blockade of nicotinic cholinoreceptors

Integral cytophotometry was used to measure lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and its H-and M-isoforms in neurons and satellite gliocytes in tissue sections from the cranial cervical sympathetic ganglion of the rabbit in normal conditions and after experimental partial and complete pharmacological blockade of nicotinic cholinoreceptors (n-CR). In normal conditions, both cell types showed both the H-and M-type isoforms, though the isoenzyme profiles differed — neurons showed a dominance of H-isoform activity while the M-isoform was more active in satellite gliocytes. In partial and complete blockade, the activity of LDH and its H-and M-isoforms decreased significantly in proportion to the number of blocked n-CR. In satellite gliocytes, increases in the extent of blockade were associated with decreases in the activity only of the M-isoform, while the activity of the H-isoform did not change. In partial blockade, the LDH isoenzyme profile of satellite gliocytes shifted towards the neuronal isoform, while in complete blockade there was no difference from the LDH isoenzyme profile of intact neurons. These data led to the suggestion that the formation of lactate in satellite gliocytes is induced by nicotinic cholinergic synapses directly involved in neuron-glial interactions and in controlling the activity of the LDH enzyme system in sympathetic neurons. __________ Translated from Morfologiya, Vol. 132, No. 4, pp. 36–39, July–August, 2007.     

Effect of degeneration of sympathetic ganglion cells on amino acid metabolism in cervical ganglion from the rat

Summary One week after sectioning of the postganglionic nerve of the cervical sympathetic ganglion of the rat, most of the nerve cell bodies have degenerated and disappeared from the tissue and have been replaced by Schwann cell elements. Free glutamic and aspartic acid contents in the operated ganglia remain unchanged from the control values. ¹⁴C-Labeling of free amino acids from ¹⁴C-glucose during incubation of excised ganglia was the same in operated and control ganglia, the major labeling being in free glutamate and aspartate in both cases. After section of the postganglionic nerve, ganglia still accumulated L- or D-glutamate from the surrounding medium for a short period, but for longer incubation time the degree of accumulation was relatively less. The operated ganglia lost the stereospecificity for glutamate transport which was found in normal ganglia. Speculations concerning the biochemical characteristics of amino acid metabolism in neuronal and Schwann cells are presented.This investigation was supported by a grant from Ministry of Education in Japan. Part of this work was presented in the First International Meeting for Neurochemistry, Strasbourg, France (Nagata and Tsukada 1967).     

Sympathetic neurons in lower cervical ganglia send axons through the superior cervical ganglion

In addition to the preganglionic axons which innervate the superior cervical ganglia, the cervical sympathetic trunks of the rat have been shown to contain axons of ganglionic neurons. Following the application of horseradish peroxidase to the cut cervical sympathetic trunk just caudal to the superior cervical ganglion, a population of approximately 300 labeled neurons was found in the inferior and middle cervical ganglia. The labeled neurons were localized primarily in the more rostral regions of these ganglia. The axons of most of these neurons entered the superior cervical ganglion, passed through it, and left via the external carotid nerve.The relevance of these observations to physiological studies on the cervical sympathetic nervous system is discussed     

Network of the sympathetic nervous system: Focus on the input and output of the cervical sympathetic ganglion

Unlike the thoracic and lumbar sympathetic nervous systems with paravertebral ganglions in individual spinal segments, the cervical sympathetic nervous system lacks segmental structures corresponding to the spinal segments and only three ganglions, namely the upper and middle cervical ganglions and the stellate ganglion, are present. Single axons have been observed in the ganglions using an anterograde-labeling method to analyze their expansion in order to investigate the relationship between the cervical sympathetic ganglions and the spinal cord in rats. Although segmental structures were not confirmed in the upper cervical ganglion, segmental structures were demonstrated in the stellate ganglion. Next, it was determined that some sympathetic preganglionic neurons, nitric oxide synthetase-positive preganglionic neurons, form dense nerve endings on the upper cervical ganglion neurons that project onto organs closely related to glandular secretion in the head and neck region. Finally, the relationship between the cell body size of upper cervical ganglion neurons and the size of the target was investigated for the three major salivary glands in rats and it was determined that no direct relationship was present.     

Denervation-induced formation of adrenergic synapses in the superior cervical sympathetic ganglion of the rat and the enhancement of this effect by postganglionic axotomy

A study has been made at the ultrastructural level of the effects of denervation and axotomy on the synapse population of the rat superior cervical ganglion. Superior cervical ganglia were subjected unilaterally to acute (survival, 48 h) or chronic preganglionic denervation (survival, 41-189 days) by cutting the cervical sympathetic trunk; in chronic denervation experiments regeneration of preganglionic nerve fibres into the ganglion was prevented by suturing the proximal (caudal) stump of the trunk into the sternomastoid muscle. In some chronic experiments the preganglionic denervation was combined with simultaneous crush axotomy of the major postganglionic branches of the ganglion, the internal and external carotid nerves (axotomized-denervated ganglia). Control observations were made in contralateral ganglia and in ganglia from normal rats. After excision and before fixation, ganglia were incubated briefly in the presence of 5-hydroxydopamine to label adrenergic vesicles. Chronic denervation caused a statistically significant 12% decrease from control values in the cytoplasmic minor axes of the principal ganglionic neurones; axotomy combined with chronic denervation led to a 6% increase in this dimension, which was not statistically significant. The minor axes of the neuronal nuclei did not differ significantly from control values in either type of experiment. Axotomy combined with denervation led however to a 36% decrease in the incidence of nucleated neuronal profiles per unit area of ganglion. Counts of synapses were made in the various classes of ganglia and their incidence was expressed per nucleated neuronal profile, to permit comparison within and between experiments. Normal and control ganglia showed a high incidence of synapses of preganglionic cholinergic type. Nerve terminal profiles and synapses containing small dense-cored vesicles, as distinct from the efferent synapses of small granule-containing cells, were not found to be present on the principal neurones or their dendrites in these ganglia, despite strong 5-hydroxydopamine labelling of small dense-cored vesicles within cell bodies and dendrites. After acute denervation extremely few residual synapses were found in the ganglion, in areas remote from small granule-containing cells, and these residual synapses were of the cholinergic type. Acute denervation led to the appearance of vacated or isolated postsynaptic densities; such densities were also found, but were fewer in number, in chronically denervated and axotomized-denervated ganglia.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)     

Preganglionic fibres of the adrenal medulla and cervical sympathetic ganglia: differential involvement during experimental American trypanosomiasis in rats

The acute phase of experimental Chagas' disease in rats is associated with early lesions of the post-ganglionic sympathetic nerve terminals of the heart, the varicosities being the target. In the superior cervical and stellate ganglia the preganglionic fibres showed no signs of lesion in the course of experimental Chagas' disease. In the adrenal medulla, however, the acute phase of the Trypanosoma cruzi infection induced a clear rarefaction of the acetylcholinesterase-positive nerve fibres (20 and 32 days after infection). Recovery of the normal pattern occurred in most animals by day 125 after infection. At days 20, 32 and 46 after infection, electron-microscopic studies demonstrated the occurrence of damage in cholinergic nerve terminals contacting the chromaffin cells. The signs of damage included dense bodies, clumps of synaptic vesicles and filaments, rarefaction of all organelles, vacuoles and irregular contour. The ultrastructural peculiarities of the sympathetic ganglia may explain the ganglionar microenvironment protective against the hazardous factors elicited by acute Chagas' disease.     

Separation of synaptic vesicles of different functional states from the cholinergic synapses of the Torpedo electric organ

Synaptic vesicles were isolated on sucrose zonal gradients from perfused tissue blocks of Torpedo electric organ. They give rise to a coincident peak in the concentrations of acetylcholine and adenosine 5′-triphosphate. On low-frequency stimulation (0.1 Hz) of the nerve attached to the tissue block a distinct population of synaptic vesicles is found that sediments further into the density gradient forming a second (denser) vesicle peak. When dextran is added to the perfusate, only these denser vesicles contain electron-dense granules. This second (denser) peak contains about 25% of all vesicular acetylcholine and about 30% of the adenosine 5′-triphosphate and most of the newly synthesized acetylcholine as shown by incorporation of radiolabelled acetate. The specific radioactivity of acetylcholine in the denser vesicles after 1800 impulses is on average 16.5 times higher than that of the vesicles sedimenting at the original density and 9.2 times higher than the average of all vesicles isolated. The specific radioactivity of total tissue acetylcholine is lower than the average for all vesicles.It is concluded that stimulation makes apparent metabolic and morphological heterogeneity of synaptic vesicles. The increase in density of the vesicles containing newly synthesized acetylcholine could be due to endocytotic uptake of sucrose contained in the perfusate after the vesicle has undergone exocytosis. The results suggest that synaptic vesicles can be reloaded with transmitter and re-used even after uptake of extracellular marker.     

The effects of naloxone infusion and stellate ganglion blockade on hot flushes in the human male

A 77-yr-old man presented with severe episodes of hypotension, flushing and sweating starting immediately after infarcting his only remaining functioning testis. The attacks were shown to be mediated by the cervical sympathetic chain, the reaction on the face and neck being abolished by a stellate ganglion block. The severity and frequency of sweating was also considerably reduced with naloxone as may be seen in female climacteric flushing. Injection of testosterone significantly reduced the frequency and severity of the attacks, which were unaltered by oestrogen treatment.     

Pathomorphology of the superior cervical sympathetic ganglia in burns

Department of Pathological Anatomy, N. Narimanov Azerbaidzhan Medical Institute, Baku. (Presented by Academician of the Academy of Medical Sciences of the USSR D. S. Sarkisov.) Translated from Byulleten' Éksperimental'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 108, No. 12, pp. 751–753, December, 1989.     

Neurochemical properties of the middle cervical ganglion in the sheep

The neurochemical properties of the ovine middle cervical ganglion (MCG) were studied using antibodies raised against tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), dopamine beta-hydroxylase (DbetaH), neuropeptide Y (NPY), substance P (SP), calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) and galanin (GAL). Double-labelling immunocytochemistry revealed that the vast majority (95.5 +/- 0.8%) of postganglionic sympathetic MCG neurons expressed simultaneously both catecholamine-synthesizing enzymes (neurons were TH/DbetaH-positive). A large population of noradrenergic neurons exhibited immunoreactivity (IR) to NPY (62.2 +/- 2.2%), but single NPY-positive perikarya-lacking noradrenergic markers were also observed (2.0 +/- 0.3%). None of the examined MCG neuronal somata contained SP, CGRP, GAL or VIP. A moderate number of noradrenergic nerve fibres located amongst neuronal cell bodies was also found. In small number of these terminals the presence of NPYor GAL (but not CGRP or VIP) was detected. The ovine MCG was numerously innervated with SP-immunoreactive nerve fibres which sometimes formed basket-like formations around postganglionic neurons. The MCG exhibited a sparse CGRP-immunoreactive innervation and lacked VIP-positive nerve terminals. In many aspects the chemical coding of MCG postganglionic neurons and nerve terminals resembles that found in other mammalian cervico-thoracic paravertebral ganglia, but some important species-dependent differences exist. The functional implications of these differences remain to be elucidated.     

Immunocytochemical characteristics of neurons in the stellate ganglion of the sympathetic trunk in mice during postnatal ontogenesis

The neurotransmitter composition of neurons in the stellate ganglion of mice of different ages (neonatal and aged 10, 20, 30, and 60 days) was studied using an immunocytochemical method. Most of the neurons in the mice of these age groups contained tyrosine hydroxylase (TH). Most choline acetyltransferase (CAT)-positive neurons in neonatal and 10-day mice were also TH-positive. From birth and at all subsequent ages, there were increases in the proportion of cells contained TH and neuropeptide Y. The proportion of neurons containing vasoactive intestinal peptide and CAT increased to 10 days of life and then decreased. Somatostatin-and galanin-positive neurons were absent from all animals. Maturation of the set of neurotransmitters in stellate ganglia was complete by age two months. Director: Professor V. N. Volovenko __________ Translated from Morfologiya, Vol. 128, No. 5, pp. 41–44, September–October, 2005.     

Participation of cholinergic and adrenergic synapses of the medial septal area (MSA) in the natriuretic and kaliuretic responses to intraventricular hypertonic saline (NaCl)

The microinjection of hypertonic sodium chloride into the third ventricle elicits natriuresis and kaliuresis in rats following water loading. These responses were blocked by atropine or phentolamine microinjection into the MSA. The data suggest the interaction between periventricular areas sensible to changes of sodium concentration in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and MSA. Cholinergic and alpha-adrenergic synapses of MSA are involved in this interaction which regulates renal sodium excretion.     

Ultrastructural localisation of NADPH-d/nNOS expression in the superior cervical ganglion of the hamster

This study examined NADPH-d and nNOS expression in the SCG of hamsters. By light microscopy, numerous NADPH-d/NOS positive processes were widely distributed in the ganglion. Ultrastructurally, the NADPH-d reaction product was associated with the membranous organelles of neuronal soma, dendrites, myelinated fibres, small granular cells, and axon profiles bearing agranular vesicles. The NOS immunoreaction product, on the other hand, was localised in the cytoplasm of principal neurons and dendrites. Some of the NADPH-d/NOS labelled processes formed junctional contacts including synapses or zonulae adherentia. Compared with the neurons, the nonneuronal cells in the ganglion, namely, macrophages, satellite cells and endothelial cells were labelled by NADPH-d but devoid of nNOS immunoreaction product. The results suggest that the NADPH-d/NOS positive fibres in the SCG originate not only from the projecting fibres of the lateral horns of thoracic spinal cord, but also from the principal neurons and small granular cells; some may represent visceral afferent fibres. Electron microscopic morphometry has shown that about 67% of the principal neurons contain NADPH-d reaction product, and that the majority were small to medium sized neurons based on cross-sectional areas in image analysis. On the basis of the present morphological study, it is concluded NO is produced by some local neurons and possibly some nonneuronal cells in the SCG as well as some fibres of extrinsic origin. In this connection, NO may serve either as a neurotransmitter or neuromodulator.     

Hes1 is required for the development of the superior cervical ganglion of sympathetic trunk and the carotid body

Hes1 gene represses the expression of proneural basic helix–loop–helix (bHLH) factor Mash1, which is essential for the differentiation of the sympathetic ganglia and carotid body glomus cells. The sympathetic ganglia, carotid body, and common carotid artery in Wnt1‐Cre/R26R double transgenic mice were intensely labeled by X‐gal staining, i.e., the neural crest origin. The deficiency of Hes1 caused severe hypoplasia of the superior cervical ganglion (SCG). At embryonic day (E) 17.5–E18.5, the volume of the SCG in Hes1 null mutants was reduced to 26.4% of the value in wild‐type mice. In 4 of 30 cases (13.3%), the common carotid artery derived from the third arch artery was absent in the null mutants, and the carotid body was not formed. When the common carotid artery was retained, the organ grew in the wall of the third arch artery and glomus cell precursors were provided from the SCG in the null mutants as well as in wild‐types. However, the volume of carotid body in the null mutants was only 52.5% of the value in wild‐types at E17.5–E18.5. These results suggest that Hes1 plays a critical role in regulating the development of neural crest derivatives in the mouse cervical region. Developmental Dynamics 241:1289–1300, 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

上颈性眩晕发生的颈交感神经及第2颈神经的解剖学因素观察

目的 明确颈上神经节（superior cervical ganglion,SCG）与第2颈神经及椎动脉的解剖关系,为临床诊治上颈性眩晕提供形态学基础。 方法 解剖15具（30侧）成人尸体标本,观察颈上神经节与C2的交通支及至椎动脉的分支。 结果 5侧未见SCG与C2之间存在神经连接;25侧存在神经连接,其中18侧存在迷走神经参与,7侧可见SCG分支支配椎动脉。SCG分支与C2前支汇合后,交感神经纤维分别至C2前、后支及椎动脉。 结论 SCG与C2的交通支及其对椎动脉的支配关系,可为阐明上颈性眩晕发病机理及建立有效治疗方案提供重要解剖学依据。     

Cholinergic synaptic activation due to HCO 3 − in the superior cervical ganglion of the rat

Influence of acid-base change on synaptic transmission was studied in the isolated superior cervical ganglion of the rat. Effects of changes inP _CO2 [HCO ₃ ^– ], or pH of the superfusing solution were studied, using as an index of synaptic excitation the amplitude of the initial negative deflection of surface potential induced by preganglionic stimulation. An increase or decrease in the extracellular fluid (ECF) pH by changing [HCO ₃ ^– ] at a normalP _CO2 elicited respectively augmentation or suppression of the negative deflection. Similar shifts in the ECF pH with varyingP _CO2 at a normal [HCO ₃ ^– ] had small or almost negligible effects on the negative deflection. Simultaneous increase in both theP _CO2 and [HCO ₃ ^– ], which compensated for the pH change in the ECF, induced a consistent increase in the amplitude of the negative deflection. The amplitude of negative deflection in various acid-base conditions was positively correlated with the ECF [HCO ₃ ^– ] but not with ECF pH orP _CO2. These results suggest that an increase in the ECF [HCO ₃ ^– ] activates cholinergic (nicotinic) synaptic transmission in the ganglion.     

Morphology of sympathetic preganglionic neurons innervating the superior cervical ganglion in the chicken: an immunohistochemical study using retrograde labeling of cholera toxin subunit B

Summary Preganglionic sympathetic neurons (SPNs) in the chicken were demonstrated immunohistochemically using cholera toxin subunit B (CTb) as a retrograde tracer. After injection of CTb-solution into the superior cervical ganglion, labeled SPNs were mainly found in the ipsilateral sympathetic preganglionic column of Terni (the column of Terni), with only a few in the intermediate zone. They were observed from the caudal half of the 15th cervical segment to the rostral tip of the 3rd thoracic segment. Cell somata of SPNs were loosely packed with-in the column of Terni, where they had an elliptic shape with the long axis oriented rostrocaudally. In the horizontal plane three kinds of dendrites could be discriminated on the basis of their orientation. Longitudinally oriented dendrites emanated from the rostral and the caudal poles of the SPNs. Medially oriented dendrites were observed to cross the midline and enter the contralateral column of Terni, where they further branched to form a loose dendritic plexus; some extended beyond the lateral limit of the contralateral column of Terni to reach the intermediate zone. Laterally oriented dendrites formed periodically arranged dendritic bundles projecting into the intermediate zone. The present findings provide a detailed account of the dendritic organization of SPNs in the chicken, and suggest that avian SPNs share certain structural features in common with mammalian SPNs.     

Src family kinase potentiates the activity of nicotinic acetylcholine receptor in rat autonomic ganglion innervating urinary bladder

Src family kinases (SFKs), one of the tyrosine kinase groups, are primary regulators of signal transductions that control cellular functions such as cell proliferation, differentiation, survival, metabolism, and other important roles of the cell. One of the crucial functions of SFKs is to regulate the activities of various neuronal channels. In this study, we investigated the modulatory action of SFK on nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) expressed in rat major pelvic ganglion (MPG) neurons innervating the urinary bladder. PP1 and PP2 (5 μM), selective Src-kinase inhibitors, attenuated ACh-induced ionic currents and [Ca2+](i) transients in MPG neurons, whereas PP3, an inactive analogue, had no effect. Blocking the tyrosine kinase activity of Src kinase by pp60 c-src inhibitory peptide also reduced the ACh-induced currents. Conversely, sodium orthovanadate (200 μM), a tyrosine phosphatase inhibitor, significantly augmented the ACh-induced currents. In the kinase assay, the activities of SFKs in MPG neurons were also inhibited by PP2, but not by PP3. These data suggests that SFKs may have a facilitative role on the synaptic transmission in rat pelvic autonomic ganglion.