title: New transgenic evidence for a system of sympathetic axons able to express tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA) within arterial/arteriolar walls.
abstract: Sympathetic axons embedded in a few arterioles and vasa vasora were recently shown to store tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA) in vesicles. But the extension of such t-PA axons to arteries and arterioles throughout the organism has not been verified. Confirmation of this anatomy would identify a second significant source of vessel wall t-PA. To visualize fine embedded axons independent of endothelium, we created a transgenic mouse whose expressions of the t-PA promoter and enhanced green fluorescent protein are confined to sympathetic neurons and other neural crest derivatives. Confocal images reveal the extension of t-PA axons to arterioles serving heart, brain, kidney, lung, mesentery, and skin; plus aortic, carotid, and mesenteric artery walls. Ganglion neurons and adrenal chromaffin cells also show strong expressions. These new sightings confirm the existence of a system of t-PA axons that is prominent in arterioles, and compatible with the release of neural t-PA into their walls.
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology, University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, CT 06030-3105, USA.
authors.forename: Zhifang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Hao
authors.forename: Caiying
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: Xi
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Krueger
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Pietri
authors.forename: Sylvie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dufour
authors.forename: Robert E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Cone
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: O'Rourke
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001158:Arteries / Q000294:innervation* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure; D001160:Arterioles / Q000294:innervation* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure; D001369:Axons / Q000378:metabolism*; D002460:Cell Line; D005260:Female; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D013564:Sympathetic Nervous System / Q000378:metabolism*; D010959:Tissue Plasminogen Activator / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: C485184:enhanced green fluorescent protein; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins; D010959:Tissue Plasminogen Activator