title: Osteocalcin-immunoreactive neurons in the vagal and glossopharyngeal sensory ganglia of the rat.
abstract: Immunohistochemistry for osteocalcin (OC) was performed on the rat vagal and glossopharyngeal sensory ganglia. OC-immunoreactive (IR) neurons were detected in the jugular (10%), petrosal (11%) and nodose ganglia (6%). The cell size analysis demonstrated that OC-IR neurons were predominantly small to medium-sized in the jugular ganglion (mean+/-S.D.=356.3+/-192.2 microm(2), range=86.5-831.5 microm(2)). On the other hand, such neurons were medium-sized to large in the petrosal (mean+/-S.D.=725.6+/-280.7 microm(2), range=124.7-1540.4 microm(2)) and nodose ganglia (mean+/-S.D.=857.5+/-330.2 microm(2), range=367.1-1608.0 microm(2)). In the circumvallate papilla, OC-IR nerve fibers were located in the vicinity of taste buds. Some taste bud cells were also immunoreactive for the calcium-binding protein (CaBP). In the carotid body, however, OC-IR nerve fibers could not be detected. Retrograde tracing with fluorogold revealed that OC-IR nerve fibers in the circumvallate papilla mainly originated from the petrosal ganglion. These findings may suggest that OC-IR petrosal neurons have chemoreceptive function in the tongue.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Function and Anatomy, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine and Dentistry, 2-5-1 Shikata-cho, Okayama 700-8525, Japan. hiroichi@md.okayama-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ichikawa
authors.forename: H W
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fujita
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Nagaoka
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sugimoto
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002628:Chemoreceptor Cells / Q000378:metabolism; D005930:Glossopharyngeal Nerve / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D009474:Neurons / Q000378:metabolism*; D009620:Nodose Ganglion / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D015675:Osteocalcin / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D013650:Taste Buds / Q000502:physiology; D014059:Tongue / Q000294:innervation
chemical_list: D015675:Osteocalcin