title: Vanilloid receptor VR1-positive afferents are distributed differently at different levels of the rat lumbar spinal cord.
abstract: The vanilloid receptor VR1 renders a group of primary afferents that express it sensitive to noxious heat and capsaicin, and is thus an important marker for nociceptors. We use double immunofluorescence and confocal microscopy to show that the density of VR1-positive fibers and boutons in the dorsal horn increases progressively from spinal segments L4 to L6 and that the colocalization of VR1 with the neuropeptide substance P (SP) in lamina I and along the lateral collateral path, where the majority of visceral afferents terminate, is negligible at L4, but substantial at L6. We conclude that VR1 is expressed by visceral afferents to the lower lumbar spinal cord in the rat, which also express SP.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, College of Medicine, Hanyang University, Seoul, 133-791, South Korea.
authors.forename: S J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Hwang
authors.forename: J G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Valtschanoff
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015415:Biomarkers; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D008159:Lumbar Vertebrae; D008297:Male; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal; D009619:Nociceptors / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D010146:Pain / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000503:physiopathology; D020671:Posterior Horn Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D017729:Presynaptic Terminals / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D011955:Receptors, Drug / Q000378:metabolism*; D013126:Spinal Nerve Roots / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D013373:Substance P / Q000378:metabolism; D009435:Synaptic Transmission / Q000502:physiology; D017833:Visceral Afferents / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D011955:Receptors, Drug; D013373:Substance P