title: Sympathectomy induces c-Jun in adult trigeminal neurons: an immunohistochemical and tract-tracing study.
abstract: The induction of the immediate early gene product c-Jun was investigated in trigeminal ganglia following surgical removal of the superior cervical ganglion (SCG). A 5-fold increase in c-Jun-immunoreactive neurons was detected by 48 h post-surgery in ipsilateral trigeminal ganglia of sympathectomized rats. This increase persisted for 6 days. When examined 4 months after sympathectomy, c-Jun expression had returned to basal levels. The possibility that trigeminal neurons project to the SCG, and therefore induce c-Jun by being axotomized by sympathectomy, was also examined using retrograde fluorescent tracing. A very limited number of trigeminal neurons were retrogradely labeled from the SCG. These data indicate that c-Jun induction occurs in sensory neurons following perturbations to sympathetic ganglia, and that trigeminal neurons may project to the SCG, but that c-Jun induction cannot be ascribed to axotomy following surgical sympathectomy. Thus, these findings support anatomical and functional interconnections between the sensory and autonomic nervous systems. The relationship of c-Jun induction with plasticity phenomena is discussed.
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Anatomia ed Istologia, Facoltà di Medicina e Chirurgia, Verona, Italy. songe@borgoroma.univr.it
authors.forename: D A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Bolden
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001369:Axons / Q000502:physiology; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity / Q000502:physiology; D009475:Neurons, Afferent / Q000378:metabolism*; D016755:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-jun / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D017783:Superior Cervical Ganglion / Q000502:physiology*; D013562:Sympathectomy; D012668:Trigeminal Ganglion / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D016755:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-jun