NADPH-d activity in the islands of Calleja: a regulatory system of blood flow to the ventral striatum/pallidum?
We have used dihydronicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate diaphorase (NADPH-d) histochemistry to study the anatomical relationships between the islands of Calleja (ICs), ventral striatum (VS) and ventral pallidum (VP), and the perforating branches of the anterior communicating and anterior cerebral arteries traversing the olfactory tubercle. The granule cells of the ICs are intensely positive for NADPH-d, a marker for neuronal nitric oxide synthetase (NOS), and closely surround all arterioles perfusing the VP and most of the arterioles supplying the VS. In contrast, they are not related to the arteries destined for the dorsal striatum. On the ground of the vasodilatory properties of the nitric oxide, we propose that the ICs may play a role in the regulation of blood flow to specific centres of the limbic forebrain.
Meyer
G
G
Departamento de Anatomia, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de la Laguna, Tenerife, Spain.
González-Hernández
T
T
Galindo-Mireles
D
D
Carrillo-Padilla
F
F
Ferres-Torres
R
R
D000818:Animals; D002536:Cerebral Arteries / Q000201:enzymology; D002560:Cerebrovascular Circulation / Q000502:physiology; D003593:Cytoplasm / Q000201:enzymology; D005917:Globus Pallidus / Q000098:blood supply* / Q000201:enzymology*; D006651:Histocytochemistry; D009252:NADPH Dehydrogenase / Q000378:metabolism*; D017072:Neostriatum / Q000098:blood supply* / Q000201:enzymology*; D009830:Olfactory Bulb / Q000098:blood supply / Q000201:enzymology*; D016548:Prosencephalon / Q000098:blood supply; D051381:Rats
D009252:NADPH Dehydrogenase