Double Labeling of Vagal Preganglionic and Sympathetic Postganglionic Fibers in Celiac Ganglion, Superior Mesenteric Arteries and Myenteric Plexus
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Chinese Journal of Physiology 60(1): xxx-xxx, 2017 1 DOI: 10.4077/CJP.2017.BAF449 Double Labeling of Vagal Preganglionic and Sympathetic Postganglionic Fibers in Celiac Ganglion, Superior Mesenteric Arteries and Myenteric Plexus Shi-Jane Ting1, Chih-Kuan Kao1, and Feng-Bin Wang1, 2, 3, 4, * 1Department of Psychology, National Chung Cheng University, Chiayi 62102 2Mental Health Promotion Center, National Chung Cheng University, Chiayi 62102 3Doctoral Program in Cognitive Sciences, National Chung Cheng University, Chiayi 62102 and 4Advanced Institute of Manufacturing with High-Tech Innovations, National Chung Cheng University, Chiayi 62102, Taiwan, Republic of China Abstract Sympathetic efferents regulate the “fight-or-flight” response and sympathetic and vagal fibers have been suggested to retrogradely and centrally spread pathogens associated with Parkinson’s disease. To examine the arrangement of the vagal and sympathetic motor fibers in the celiac ganglion (CG), gastrointestinal tract, and along the superior mesenteric artery and its sub-branches, we double-labeled the vagal efferents by injecting Dextran-Texas Red into the dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus and the sympathetic postganglionics with tyrosine hydroxylase immunohistochemistry in male Sprague-Dawley rats (n = 18). The laser scanning confocal microscope was used for image analysis. Vagal nerve endings were densely distributed around the CG neurons, and the right CG received more. Vagal and sympathetic efferent endings formed various ring or string shapes that tangled closely in the myenteric plexus of the forestomach, duodenum, jejunum and ileum. Vagal and sympathetic efferents coursed within the same nerve bundles before reaching the myenteric plexus, had in-apposition varicosities, and ran parallel with the superior mesenteric artery and its sub-branches. Although a complete sympathetic tracing and an incomplete tracing and/or damage to the vagal preganglionic neurons may lead to a sampling bias, the sympathetic innervations in the blood vessels and myenteric plexus are stronger than in the vagus. The in-apposition innervation varicosities of the vagal and sympathetic efferents within the same nerve bundles and in the myenteric plexus of the gut with complex innervation patterns may offer a network to automatically control gastrointestinal functions and an infection route of the Parkinson’s disease between the autonomic efferent endings. Key Words: autonomic, Dextran-Texas Red, myenteric plexus, parasympathetic, sympathetic, tyrosine hydroxylase immunohistochemistry Introduction regulation in the “fight-or-flight” response than does the parasympathetic (5, 21). We have previously char- The motor outflow of the autonomic nervous acterized two types of vagal afferents in the muscle system consists of two divisions: the sympathetic and of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract from oral esophagus parasympathetic nervous systems. Both are organized to the colon presumably with different functions: in- hierarchically into pre- and postganglionic levels, and traganglionic laminar endings (IGLEs) are to integrate the sympathetic division has much more rapid and strong intramural tension, and intramuscular arrays (IMAs) Corresponding author: Dr. Feng-Bin Wang, Department of Psychology, National Chung Cheng University, Chiayi 62102, Taiwan, R.O.C. Tel: +886-5-272-0411 ext. 32208, E-mail: [email protected] Received: June 10, 2016; Revised (Final Version): August 11, 2016; Accepted: August 23, 2016. 2017 by The Chinese Physiological Society and Airiti Press Inc. ISSN : 0304-4920. http://www.cps.org.tw 2 Ting, Kao and Wang appear to work as stretch receptors (22, 24). This examine the general arrangement of the vagal and inventory leads to further examination of the hy- sympathetic motor fibers innervating the celiac pothesis that IMAs may operate as stretch detectors ganglion (CG), GI tract and mesenteric arteries, we (15, 16, 18). Similarly, an inventory of the vagal and double labeled the vagal efferents by injecting Dextran- sympathetic efferents may offer insight to further Texas Red into the dmnX and the sympathetic post- understand the motor regulation of the gut. Moreover, ganglionics by tyrosine hydroxylase immunohis- we have documented that vagal afferents always deliver tochemistry in the rats. two nerve bundles running along each branch of the superior mesenteric artery (SMA) (23); we wondered Materials and Methods how the sympathetic and vagal efferents were arranged in the vasculatures of the GI tract. Subject Housing Environment The parasympathetic and sympathetic pre- and postganglionic neurons are involved in the development Male Sprague-Dawley rats (n = 18; 3-5 months of the Parkinson’s disease (3, 4, 6). The diagnostic old, 280~350 g), obtained from BioLASCO (Taipei, features of Parkinson’s disease, the alpha-synuclein- Taiwan), were housed individually and maintained positive Lewy bodies and Lewy neurites, first occur on a 12-h light/dark cycle at room temperature 23–25°C . in the autonomic pathways in the GI tract during the Solid food chow and tap water were available ad libitum. earliest and pre-symptomatic stage of the disease (4). All experimental treatments were under the guidelines Hypothetically, an environmental pathogen of Parkinson’s of the Council of Agriculture, Executive Yuan, ROC, disease may first breach the mucosal barrier of the and approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use GI tract in susceptible individuals, infect α-synuclein- Committee of National Chung Cheng University. positive neurons in the enteric nervous system, and subsequently the vagal preganglionic fibers spread Labeling of Vagal Preganglionic Efferents the pathogen to the central nervous system (9). The GI tract is heavily innervated by vagal preganglionics (1, After overnight food deprivation, rats were 8). Thus, Hawkes et al. (9) suggested that the stomach is anesthetized with sodium pentobarbital (50-55 mg/kg, the most likely starting point for any pathological insult ip). To label selectively the vagal efferent innervation to reach the dorsal vagal complex. The expression of in the celiac ganglion, SMA, and myenteric plexus of α-synuclein in the myenteric neurons increases pro- the forestomach and small intestines, from the duodenum portionally from the stomach through duodenum to to the ileum, the red fluorescent dye Dextran-Texas Red jejunum (14). Furthermore, all vagal preganglionic (5%; 10,000 MW, lysine fixable; D-1863; Molecular projections, but not vagal afferent endings, express α- Probes, Eugene, OR, USA) was pressure injected (0.5–0.6 synuclein both in axons and terminal varicosities that μl total volume, five sites on each side: two rostral to, being in apposition with the myenteric neurons (14). one at, and two caudal to the area postrema) via glass In Braak’s infection model of the Parkinson’s micropipettes bilaterally into the dmnX with Picospritzer disease (4), the celiac ganglia are the sites that the II, (50 lbs pressure, 4~6 msec/pulse). The wound was sympathetic postganglionic neurons send axons to closed and treated with antibiotic powder (Neomycin the enteric nervous system to contact the vagal sulfate). After the animal recovered on a heating pad preganglionic elements as the infection route. As (36°C), it was returned to its home cage. The rats demonstrated by Berthoud and Powley (2), the vagal were maintained for 19 days post-injection to allow efferent fibers were found to penetrate widely into the the transport of the dye (17). prevertebral ganglia, including the celiac ganglia, superior mesenteric ganglion, some of the associated Fluorescent Immunohistochemistry for Tyrosine microganglia, and suprarenal ganglia. Vagal efferents Hydroxylase formed varicose terminal-like structures that suggest synaptic contacts to individual ganglion cells. However, Rats were injected with a lethal dose of sodium double labeling of the vagal preganglionic and sympa- pentobarbital (180 mg/kg, ip) and perfused through the thetic postganglionic efferents at the visceral terminal left ventricle of the heart with 200 ml 10 mM sodium ends has nerve been reported. phosphate buffer saline (PBS; pH 7.4; 38°C), followed Although the abdominal vagal nerves contain small by 500 ml 4% paraformaldehyde in 0.1M PBS (pH 7.4; amount of catecholaminergic fibers coming from neurons 4°C). The celiac ganglia were reserved and sectioned in the dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus (dmnX) and into a thickness of 60 μm with a microtome. Tissue blocks nodose ganglia (19, 25), Dextran-Texas Red and tyrosine reserved en bloc for examination included the forestom- hydroxylase (TH) have been well established to re- ach, duodenum (the first 4 cm of the small intestine distal spectively trace the vagal preganglionic (17, 20) and to the pyloric sphincter), jejunum (four 1-cm whole sympathetic postganglionic efferents (7, 10-12). To mounts randomly sampled approximately 52 cm distal Double Labeling of Vagal and Sympathetic Efferents in CG, SMA and GI Tract 3 to the pyloric sphincter) and ileum (the last 3 cm of We used 20x objective lens for quick scan of the the small intestine rostral to the cecum), and the SMA nerves and higher power lens (40x, 63x) for details. To with finer sub-branches. The stomach was filled with determine the type of the vagal and sympathetic efferent 5 ml water before perfusion to ensure a standard size nerve endings, the images were scanned randomly from with an appropriate muscle thickness. The whole mounts different areas, the types of nerve endings were clas-