Distribution of heme oxygenase-2 and NADPH-diaphorase in the spinal trigeminal nucleus of the rat.
Heme oxygenase (HO)/carbon monoxide (CO) and nitric oxide synthase (NOS)/nitric oxide (NO) systems are involved in sensory information processing. The present study was undertaken to examine the distribution of HO-2 and NOS in the spinal trigeminal nucleus (STN) of the rat, using histochemistry and immunohistochemistry. Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate-diaphorase (NADPH-d) staining was found that NADPH-d activity was more prominent in the nucleus caudalis (Vc) and the dorsomedial subdivision of the nucleus oralis (Vo) than in other spinal trigeminal regions. Immunohistochemistry for HO-2 revealed that HO-2 staining neurons distributed extensively, which intensity was higher in the rostral than caudal part of the STN. The colocalization of NADPH-d and HO-2 was mainly confined in the Vc. The expression and distribution of NADPH-d and HO-2 suggest that NO and CO are likely neurotransmitters and might function in the processing orofacial signal in the STN together.
Fan
Wenguo
W
Department of Oral Anatomy and Physiology, Guanghua School of Stomatology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China. fwg1207@tom.com
Huang
Fang
F
Dong
Weiguo
W
Gao
Zhixiong
Z
Li
Cuixia
C
Zhu
Xiao
X
Li
Dongpei
D
He
Hongwen
H
D000818:Animals; D006419:Heme Oxygenase (Decyclizing) / Q000378:metabolism*; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D009252:NADPH Dehydrogenase / Q000378:metabolism*; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology / Q000201:enzymology; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D013194:Staining and Labeling; D014279:Trigeminal Nucleus, Spinal / Q000166:cytology / Q000201:enzymology*
D006419:Heme Oxygenase (Decyclizing); C105245:heme oxygenase-2; D009252:NADPH Dehydrogenase