title: Vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP)-like immunoreactivity in the human sympathetic ganglia.
abstract: Vasoactive intestinal peptide immunoreactive (VIP-IR) nerve fibres and terminals, neurons and small granule containing cells were observed in human lumbal sympathetic ganglia. Electron-microscopically VIP-IR was localized in the large dense-cored vesicles in nerve terminals and on the membranes of the Golgi complexes in the neurons. A small population of principal ganglion cells was surrounded by VIP-IR nerve terminals. Most of these neurons contained acetylcholinesterase (AChE) enzyme but were not tyrosine hydroxylase-immunoreactive (TH-IR). All VIP-IR ganglion cells and most of the nerve fibres contained AChE but not TH-IR. It appears that in human sympathetic ganglia VIP is localized in the cholinergic neurons and nerve fibres and that the VIP-IR nerve terminals innervate mainly the cholinergic subpopulation of the sympathetic neurons.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Tampere, Finland.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Järvi
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Helen
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hervonen
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pelto-Huikko
mesh_terms: D000110:Acetylcholinesterase / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D005260:Female; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D005728:Ganglia, Sympathetic / Q000032:analysis* / Q000201:enzymology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D014446:Tyrosine 3-Monooxygenase / Q000276:immunology / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D014660:Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide / Q000276:immunology* / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D014660:Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide; D014446:Tyrosine 3-Monooxygenase; D000110:Acetylcholinesterase