Warburton A L, Santer R M
School of Molecular and Medical Biosciences (Anatomy Unit), University of Wales College of Cardiff, UK.
Neurosci Lett. 1995 Jul 21;194(3):157-60. doi: 10.1016/0304-3940(95)11769-s.
The rat hypogastric ganglion (HG) contains populations of both sympathetic and parasympathetic postganglionic neurons which supply the lower pelvic viscera. These neuron populations can be identified by tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) and NADPH-diaphorase (NADPH-d) staining, respectively. The effects of age on the distribution of synapsin I, a nerve terminal marker, in relation to these neuron populations has been investigated in young adult and aged rats. Most synapsin staining was axosomatic and was markedly reduced in the aged animals particularly in relation to sympathetic (NADPH-d-negative/TH-positive) neurons. Image analysis of synapsin I staining in relation to individual sympathetic neurons confirmed that there was a reduction with age of about 50% but no change in synapsin I staining in relation to parasympathetic neurons. These results suggest that synaptic transmission and peripheral integration may be affected in old age and that the autonomic control of the pelvic viscera may be compromised as a result, particularly with regard to the sympathetic innervation. Other autonomic ganglia were also studied for comparison but no such age-related differences were observed.
大鼠腹下神经节（HG）包含交感和副交感神经节后神经元群体，它们为盆腔下部脏器提供神经支配。这些神经元群体可分别通过酪氨酸羟化酶（TH）和还原型辅酶Ⅱ黄递酶（NADPH-d）染色来识别。研究了年龄对神经末梢标志物突触素Ⅰ在这些神经元群体中的分布的影响，实验对象为年轻成年大鼠和老年大鼠。大多数突触素染色为轴-体染色，在老年动物中明显减少，尤其是与交感（NADPH-d阴性/TH阳性）神经元相关的染色。对与单个交感神经元相关的突触素Ⅰ染色进行图像分析证实，随着年龄增长减少约50%，但与副交感神经元相关的突触素Ⅰ染色没有变化。这些结果表明，老年时突触传递和外周整合可能会受到影响，结果可能会损害盆腔脏器的自主控制，特别是在交感神经支配方面。还研究了其他自主神经节以作比较，但未观察到此类与年龄相关的差异。
