title: Reciprocal age-related changes in GAP-43/B-50, substance P and calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) expression in rat primary sensory neurones and their terminals in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord and subintima of the knee synovium.
abstract: Age-related changes in the expression of the growth associated protein GAP-43/B-50, and the neuropeptides substance P and calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) were investigated in the sensory neurones of rat dorsal root ganglia, dorsal horns of the spinal cord and subintimal knee synovium. The two time-points studied were 2 months (young adults) and 14-month (aged)-old Sprague Dawley rats. Dorsal root ganglia: In young adults, 40 and 35% of the L4-L5 dorsal root ganglion neurones were positive for GAP-43/B-50 with a 1.5 fold increase in frequency in aged rats at the L5 ganglion. GAP-43/B-50 was strongly expressed by the non-neuronal satellite cells of some medium and many large sized neurones in aged rats. There were marked reciprocal shifts between small and medium sized sensory neurones in respect to their substance P and CGRP expression profiles. Dorsal horn of the spinal cord: there was a 1.3 fold decrease of substance P at L5 level and a 1.3 and 1.5 fold decrease of CGRP at L4-L5 levels in aged rats, respectively. Synovial membrane: There was a 2.3 fold increase in GAP-43/B-50 and a 2.5 fold decrease of CGRP with no changes in substance P expression. These results indicate that (i) primary sensory neurones undergo age-related changes already in early stages of aging, (ii) aging may result in a reduction of substance P and CGRP axonal transport, and (iii) reduced numbers of CGRP containing synovial perivascular fibres may imply a deficient regulation of the synovial microvasculature and therefore metabolic homeostasis of the joint in aged subjects.
authors: Institute of Biomedicine/Anatomy, Biomedicum Helsinki, PO Box 63, Haartmaninkatu 8, FIN-00014 University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland. mika.hukkanen@helsinki.fi
authors: Mika
authors: M
authors: Hukkanen
authors: Louise A M
authors: LA
authors: Platts
authors: Steven A
authors: SA
authors: Corbett
authors: Seppo
authors: S
authors: Santavirta
authors: Julia M
authors: JM
authors: Polak
authors: Yrjö T
authors: YT
authors: Konttinen
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D000818:Animals; D015740:Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide / Q000378:metabolism; D002452:Cell Count; D015536:Down-Regulation / Q000502:physiology; D019922:GAP-43 Protein / Q000378:metabolism; D005727:Ganglia, Spinal / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D007719:Knee Joint / Q000294:innervation* / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D018377:Neurotransmitter Agents / Q000378:metabolism*; D020671:Posterior Horn Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D017729:Presynaptic Terminals / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D013373:Substance P / Q000378:metabolism; D013583:Synovial Membrane / Q000294:innervation* / Q000378:metabolism; D015854:Up-Regulation / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D019922:GAP-43 Protein; D018377:Neurotransmitter Agents; D013373:Substance P; D015740:Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide