Department of Human Physiology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Warmia and Mazury, Warszawska 30, 10-082 Olsztyn, Poland.
Neurosci Lett. 2011 Aug 1;500(1):57-62. doi: 10.1016/j.neulet.2011.05.242. Epub 2011 Jun 12.
The main goal of our study was to investigate the chemical coding of the superior cervical ganglion (SCG) sympathetic neurons supplying the porcine parotid gland. Additionally, the chemical nature of the vicinal nerve fibers surrounding the parotid SCG perikarya was investigated. Fast blue (FB) retrograde tracing of the parotid gland and immunofluorescent labelling of SCG neurons were studied in juvenile female pigs. Microscopic analysis revealed that only ipsilateral SCG neurons were retrogradely labelled. The labelled neurons formed a discrete cluster in the middle and caudal region of the ganglion. Immunofluorescent labelling revealed that virtually all of the FB-positive parotid gland neurons were immunoreactive to tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), confirming their sympathetic nature. In addition to TH, the majority of the FB-positive neurons were found to be immunoreactive to calbindin (CB) and to a lesser extent for neuropeptide Y (NPY), leu-enkephalin (LENK) and galanin (GAL). In the close proximity of the FB-traced perikarya, a large number of immunoreactive (IR) vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP-IR), pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP-IR), nitric oxide synthase (NOS-IR) processes were identified. Moreover, calcitonin gene related peptide-immunoreactive (CGRP-IR), substance P-immunoreactive (SP-IR), vesicular acetylcholine transporter (VAChT-IR), calretinin (CRT-IR), GAL-IR, LENK-IR and CB-IR protrusions were observed. The results of the present study provide a detailed characteristic of the location and neurochemical coding of sympathetic SCG neurons innervating the parotid salivary gland of the pig and lay ground for more advanced, clinical studies on salivary gland innervations.
本研究的主要目的是探讨支配猪腮腺的颈上神经节（SCG）交感神经元的化学编码。此外，还研究了围绕腮腺 SCG 胞体的邻近神经纤维的化学性质。在幼年雌性猪中进行了 FB 逆行追踪腮腺和 SCG 神经元免疫荧光标记的研究。显微镜分析显示，只有同侧的 SCG 神经元被逆行标记。标记的神经元在神经节的中部和尾部形成一个离散的簇。免疫荧光标记显示，几乎所有 FB 阳性的腮腺神经元均对酪氨酸羟化酶（TH）呈免疫反应性，证实其为交感神经元。除 TH 外，大多数 FB 阳性神经元还对钙结合蛋白（CB）呈免疫反应性，对神经肽 Y（NPY）、亮啡肽（LENK）和甘丙肽（GAL）的反应性较弱。在 FB 追踪的胞体附近，发现大量免疫反应性（IR）血管活性肠肽（VIP-IR）、垂体腺苷酸环化酶激活肽（PACAP-IR）、一氧化氮合酶（NOS-IR）过程。此外，还观察到降钙素基因相关肽免疫反应性（CGRP-IR）、P 物质免疫反应性（SP-IR）、囊泡乙酰胆碱转运体（VAChT-IR）、钙结合蛋白（CRT-IR）、GAL-IR、LENK-IR 和 CB-IR 突起。本研究的结果为支配猪腮腺的交感 SCG 神经元的位置和神经化学编码提供了详细特征，并为进一步研究唾液腺神经支配奠定了基础。
