title: Distribution of GAP-43 nerve fibers in the skin of the adult human hand.
abstract: Skin is an important region of somatic sensory input, and is one of the most innervated areas of the human body. In this study, we investigated in human hand skin the distribution of nervous structures immunoreactive for the growth-associated protein 43 (GAP-43) and the protein gene product 9.5 (PGP 9.5). GAP-43 is a neuronal presynaptic membrane protein that is generally considered to be a marker of neuronal plasticity. PGP 9.5 is a neuron-specific soluble protein that is widely used as general marker for the peripheral nervous system. The entire neural network of the dermis and epidermis was stained with antibody to PGP 9.5. In the dermis, there were fewer GAP-43-immunostained nerve fibers than PGP 9.5-immunostained nerve fibers, whereas in the epidermis the numbers were equal. Only some Merkel cells and Meissner corpuscles were GAP-43-immunoreactive. In conclusion, our results show that GAP-43 protein is expressed in a subset of PGP 9.5-immunoreactive nerve structures.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Pharmacology, and Forensic Medicine, Laboratory of Neuroendocrinology, University of Torino, Torino, Italy. laura.verze@unito.it
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Verzé
authors.forename: Carla
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Viglietti-Panzica
authors.forename: Stella
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Maurizo
authors.forename: Monica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sica
authors.forename: Giancarlo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Panzica
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D015415:Biomarkers; D020405:Dermis / Q000294:innervation; D004817:Epidermis / Q000294:innervation; D005260:Female; D019922:GAP-43 Protein / Q000378:metabolism*; D006225:Hand / Q000294:innervation* / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D008465:Mechanoreceptors / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D018862:Merkel Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D009412:Nerve Fibers / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity / Q000502:physiology; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D012867:Skin / Q000294:innervation*; D014110:Touch / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D019922:GAP-43 Protein