Berman Sara, Morris Andrea
Haverford College, Haverford, Pennsylvania 19041.
Impulse (Columbia). 2011 Jan 1;2010:1-12.
Nitric oxide (NO) is an atypical neurotransmitter synthesized by the enzyme nitric oxide synthase (NOS) during many stages of the Xenopus laevis life cycle. This research investigates whether the gas NO is involved in axon guidance, the neurodevelopmental process in which axons travel through the brain to their appropriate target locations to form functional neural circuitry. Through immunocytochemistry and direct labeling of the NO gas with a fluorescent dye, we have found that NOS expression corresponds spatiotemporally with the beginning of retinal axon innervation of the optic tectum in X. laevis. Our function-blocking studies in which NO is chemically inhibited suggest that NO may be necessary for correct pathfinding and targeting, evidenced by qualitative widening of the optic tract and aberrant target innervation.
一氧化氮（NO）是一种非典型神经递质，在非洲爪蟾生命周期的许多阶段由一氧化氮合酶（NOS）合成。本研究调查气体NO是否参与轴突导向，轴突导向是一种神经发育过程，其中轴突穿过大脑到达其适当的目标位置以形成功能性神经回路。通过免疫细胞化学以及用荧光染料对NO气体进行直接标记，我们发现NOS的表达在时空上与非洲爪蟾视顶盖视网膜轴突支配的开始相对应。我们进行的功能阻断研究（其中NO被化学抑制）表明，NO可能是正确路径寻找和靶向所必需的，视束定性增宽和异常的目标支配证明了这一点。
