Intraspinal non-neuronal cellular responses to peripheral nerve injury.

The accumulation of non-vascular, non-neuronal cells (designated herein as reactive cells) in association with perikarya of axotomized motor neurons has been described by many investigators. Recently Gilmore ('75) found that sciatic axotomy in immature rats resulted in the occurrence of reactive cells not only in the spinal ventral gray matter but also in the dorsal gray matter. To determine if the presence of these cells in the dorsal gray matter, a finding not reported by others, was related to the immaturity of the animal, sciatic axotomy was performed in rats ranging in age from 17 days to 16 months in the present study. Light microscopic evaluation of the spinal cords three or seven days post-operatively showed that the reactive cells occurred consistently in both dorsal and ventral gray matter irrespective of age. Transection of tibial nerve or the nerve to the medial head of the gastrocnemius muscle elicited a cellular response in both dorsal and ventral gray matter, although transection of the latter nerve resulted in a much less obvious response. Crushing of the sciatic nerve was followed by a response of reactive cells not qualitatively different from that noted following transection. Transection of the sural nerve, primarily a sensory nerve, resulted in the presence of reactive cells in dorsal gray matter but not in the environs of motor neurons in the ventral gray matter. These findings suggest that the reactive cells in the dorsal gray matter of the spinal cord are associated with altered central processes of dorsal root ganglion cells.