title: Regional differences in serotonergic input to canine parasternal intercostal motoneurons.
abstract: There is a mediolateral gradient in activation of the parasternal intercostal (PI) muscle during inspiration. In the present study, we tested the hypotheses that serotonergic [5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT)] input from descending central drive and/or intrinsic size-related properties of PI motoneurons leads to the differential activation of PI muscles. In dogs, PI motoneurons innervating the medial and lateral regions of the PI muscles at the T(3)-T(5) interspaces were retrogradely labeled by intramuscular injection of cholera toxin B subunit. After a 10-day survival period, PI motoneurons and 5-HT terminals were visualized by using immunohistochemistry and confocal imaging. There were no differences in motoneuron morphology among motoneurons innervating the medial and lateral regions of the PI muscle. However, the number of 5-HT terminals and the 5-HT terminal density (normalized for surface area) were greater in motoneurons innervating the medial region of the PI muscle compared with the lateral region. These results suggest that differences in distribution of 5-HT input may contribute to regional differences in PI muscle activation during inspiration and that differences in PI motoneuron recruitment do not relate to size.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, Mayo Clinic and Foundation, Rochester, Minnesota 55905, USA.
authors.forename: W Z
authors.initials: WZ
authors.lastname: Zhan
authors.forename: C B
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Mantilla
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zhan
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bitton
authors.forename: Y S
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Prakash
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: de Troyer
authors.forename: G C
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Sieck
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002772:Cholera Toxin; D004285:Dogs; D004525:Efferent Pathways / Q000502:physiology; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D007366:Intercostal Muscles / Q000294:innervation*; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal; D009046:Motor Neurons / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D012701:Serotonin / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D013249:Sternum; D014018:Tissue Distribution
chemical_list: D012701:Serotonin; D002772:Cholera Toxin