title: Axon terminals possessing the alpha 2c-adrenergic receptor in the rat dorsal horn are predominantly excitatory.
abstract: In this study we used confocal microscopy to show that most (83.67%) alpha(2C)-adrenergic receptor (alpha(2C)-AR)-immunoreactive terminals in the superficial dorsal horn contain the vesicular glutamate transporter 2 and hence are glutamatergic. Few (11.33%) terminals contain glutamic acid decarboxylase (a marker for GABAergic axons) and none were associated with the B subunit of cholera toxin (a marker for myelinated primary afferents) or the vesicular glutamate transporter 1. These data indicate that most dorsal horn axons possessing the alpha(2C)-AR are excitatory and add further support to the suggestion that they originate principally from spinal interneurons.
authors.affiliation: Spinal Cord Group, Institute of Biomedical and Life Sciences, West Medical Building, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK.
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Olave
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Maxwell
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001369:Axons / Q000737:chemistry; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000032:analysis; D018698:Glutamic Acid / Q000032:analysis; D008297:Male; D026901:Membrane Transport Proteins; D020671:Posterior Horn Cells / Q000737:chemistry*; D017729:Presynaptic Terminals / Q000737:chemistry*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D018341:Receptors, Adrenergic, alpha-2 / Q000032:analysis*; D050598:Vesicular Glutamate Transport Protein 1; D050599:Vesicular Glutamate Transport Protein 2; D033921:Vesicular Transport Proteins
chemical_list: C547776:Adra2c protein, rat; D002352:Carrier Proteins; D026901:Membrane Transport Proteins; D018341:Receptors, Adrenergic, alpha-2; C493475:Slc17a6 protein, rat; C493466:Slc17a7 protein, rat; D050598:Vesicular Glutamate Transport Protein 1; D050599:Vesicular Glutamate Transport Protein 2; D033921:Vesicular Transport Proteins; D018698:Glutamic Acid