Target organ destruction enhances recovery of choline acetyltransferase activity in adult rat sympathetic ganglia after denervation.

We studied the effect of destruction of the adrenergic neuronal population on the recovery of preganglionic choline acetyltransferase activity in adult rat sympathetic ganglia. To produce a partial destruction of the adrenergic system, rats were injected with guanethidine for 4 weeks; the preganglionic nerve to the superior cervical ganglion was then crushed and the guanethidine injections were continued for an additional 3 days to 6 weeks. To determine that the drug was effective, tyrosine hydroxylase activity was assessed; enzymic activity was reduced by 76% or more after guanethidine administration. In addition, electron microscopy studies showed that the number of principal cell-synaptic contacts and vesicle-containing varicosities were decreased by 90% after guanethidine administration. Those measures indicated the drug effectively destroyed the postsynaptic adrenergic neurons. In contrast, crushing the preganglionic nerve in animals not treated with guanethidine did not change tyrosine hydroxylase activity, suggesting minimal nonspecific damage to the ganglion as a result of the lesion. Choline acetyltransferase activity was measured as an index of presynaptic cholinergic integrity. After crush of the preganglionic nerve, there was a gradual recovery of ganglionic choline acetyltransferase activity in the saline-injected rats from 5% of control 3 days after the crush to 49% of control after 6 weeks. On the other hand, in the ganglia of rats administered guanethidine, there was a much enhanced recovery of choline acetyltransferase activity after the nerve crush compared with saline-injected animals; in the guanethidine-injected rats, the ganglionic choline acetyltransferase activity 3 days and 6 weeks after the nerve crush was 15 and 96%, respectively, compared with the uncrushed side. These results demonstrate after destruction of the adrenergic target tissue, recovery of presynaptic choline acetyltransferase activity in the adult rat sympathetic ganglion can still occur after denervation; however, the mechanism(s) that controls the regeneration is altered, so that enzymic activity is enhanced.