Immunocytochemical localization of substance P in the rat spinal cord with special reference to fibers within the ventral column of the rostral lumbar segments.

The distribution of substance P (SP) in the rat spinal cord was investigated by peroxidase-anti-peroxidase (PAP) immunocytochemistry. A dense network of SP-immunoreactive fibers and terminals was detected in the ventral column of the rostral lumbar cord with a different density and extent from the other segmental levels. These fibers and terminals were accumulated within and around the centromedial nucleus (CM) of the L1 and L2 segments, with some bundles of immunoreactive fibers between the CM and other areas; i.e. laminae V and X and the contralateral CM. They formed a dense network, such as in arborization of immunoreactive fibers and terminals on the transverse plane and in a comb-shaped structure on the horizontal plane. The origin of the SP in this network was examined. It was determined that neither a total transection of spinal cord at a low thoracic level or mid-lumbar level, nor at an ipsilateral or bilateral section of the 3-5 dorsal roots, containing L1 and L2 roots, induced any visible changes in the SP staining pattern. An intrathecal injection of colchicine revealed the presence of SP-immunoreactive neurons in the dorsal horn and intermediate gray matter at the spinal cord including the rostral lumbar cord. The present findings suggested that the majority of SP immunoreactivities in the above network are derived from local circuit interneurons of the spinal cord.