Leman S, Viltart O, Sequeira H
Laboratoire de Neurosciences du Comportement, Université de Lille I, Villeneuve d'Ascq, France.
Brain Res. 2000 Jan 31;854(1-2):189-96. doi: 10.1016/s0006-8993(99)02343-4.
The ventrolateral medulla is known to be involved in the regulation of arterial blood pressure, especially via its connections with sympathetic preganglionic neurons (SPNs) mainly located in the intermediolateral nucleus of the spinal cord. It has been shown that stimulation of the rostral part of the ventrolateral medulla (RVLM) elicits a release of catecholamines from the adrenal medulla. The aim of the present study was to demonstrate the existence of a functional pathway between the RVLM and adrenal SPNs using the combination of a retrograde tract tracing technique (cholera toxin B subunit) with the immunohistochemical detection of Fos protein following the chemical stimulation of RVLM. The data obtained showed that: (1) chemical stimulation of the RVLM induced Fos immunoreactivity in the intermediolateral nucleus and particularly in SPNs projecting to the adrenal medulla; (2) along the thoracic segments T2-T12, 26.1% of retrogradely identified adrenal SPNs were Fos-immunoreactive with the greatest percentage (30.9%) in the T8 segment. These results favored a functional control of the RVLM on adrenal SPNs which may contribute to a substantial activation of the cardiovascular system via the release of adrenal catecholamines.
已知延髓腹外侧区参与动脉血压的调节，尤其是通过其与主要位于脊髓中间外侧核的交感神经节前神经元（SPN）的联系来实现。研究表明，刺激延髓腹外侧区头端（RVLM）会引起肾上腺髓质释放儿茶酚胺。本研究的目的是通过逆行示踪技术（霍乱毒素B亚单位）与RVLM化学刺激后Fos蛋白免疫组化检测相结合的方法，证明RVLM与肾上腺SPN之间存在功能通路。所获得的数据表明：（1）RVLM的化学刺激在中间外侧核，特别是在投射至肾上腺髓质的SPN中诱导Fos免疫反应性；（2）在胸段T2 - T12，26.1%逆行鉴定的肾上腺SPN呈Fos免疫反应性，其中T8段的比例最高（30.9%）。这些结果支持RVLM对肾上腺SPN具有功能控制作用，这可能通过肾上腺儿茶酚胺的释放对心血管系统产生显著激活作用。
