Nitric oxide synthase immunoreactivity in rat superior cervical ganglia and adrenal glands.
Nitric oxide synthase-immunoreactivity (NOS-IR) was detected in strands of nerve fibers entering the rat superior cervical ganglia (SCG) and in nerve fibers forming a plexus beneath the capsule of adrenal glands. Within the SCG, varicose NOS-IR fibers encircled virtually all postganglionic neurons and small diameter cells, presumably small intensely fluorescent (SIF) cells. Perikarya of SIF cells exhibited strong NOS-IR, whereas the level appeared to be low in postganglionic neurons. Decentralization of the SCG for 4-6 days markedly reduced the number as well as the intensity of NOS-IR fibers without causing a detectable change of NOS-IR in the postganglionic neurons and SIF cells. Beneath the adrenal capsule, bundles of NOS-IR fibers bifurcated and made a sharp turn to reach the adrenal medulla. Chromaffin cells, which themselves exhibited fairly strong NOS-IR, appeared to be surrounded by NOS-IR fibers. The result shows that NOS-IR is present in pre- and post-synaptic elements of the sympathetic ganglia and adrenal medulla, representing a complex system that may regulate the activity of ganglionic neurons and chromaffin cells via a number of sites of action.
Dun
N J
NJ
Department of Anatomy, Medical College of Ohio, Toledo 43614.
Dun
S L
SL
Wu
S Y
SY
Förstermann
U
U
D000311:Adrenal Glands / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000294:innervation; D000594:Amino Acid Oxidoreductases / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D009252:NADPH Dehydrogenase / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D009412:Nerve Fibers / Q000201:enzymology; D019001:Nitric Oxide Synthase; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D017783:Superior Cervical Ganglion / Q000201:enzymology*; D013564:Sympathetic Nervous System / Q000166:cytology / Q000201:enzymology
D019001:Nitric Oxide Synthase; D000594:Amino Acid Oxidoreductases; D009252:NADPH Dehydrogenase