title: Spinal cord transection modifies neuronal nitric oxide synthase expression in medullar reticular nuclei and in the spinal cord and increases parvalbumin immunopositivity in motoneurons below the site of injury in experimental rabbits.
abstract: Using immunohistochemistry, we detected the expression of neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) in ventral medullary gigantocellular reticular nuclei and in the lumbosacral spinal cord 10 days after thoracic transection in experimental rabbits. We tried to determine whether neurons located below the site of injury are protected by the calcium binding protein parvalbumin (PV). Changes of nNOS immunoreactivity (IR) in spinal cord were correlated with the level of nNOS protein in dorsal and ventral horns. Ten days after transection, nNOS was upregulated predominantly in lateral gigantocellular nuclei. In the spinal cord, we revealed a significant increase of nNOS protein in the dorsal horn. This is consistent with a higher density of punctate and fiber-like immunostaining for nNOS in laminae III-IV and the up-regulation of nNOS-IR in neurons of the deep dorsal horn. After surgery, the perikarya of motoneurons remained nNOS immunonegative. Contrary to nNOS, the PV-IR was upregulated in α-motoneurons and small-sized neurons of the ventral horn. However, its expression was considerably reduced in neurons of the deep dorsal horn. The findings indicate that spinal transection affects nNOS and PV in different neuronal circuits.
authors: Institute of Neurobiology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Košice, Slovak Republic. lukacova@saske.sk
authors: Nadežda
authors: N
authors: Lukáčová
authors: Alexandra
authors: A
authors: Kisucká
authors: Jaroslav
authors: J
authors: Pavel
authors: Ludmila
authors: L
authors: Hricová
authors: Andrea
authors: A
authors: Kucharíková
authors: Ján
authors: J
authors: Gálik
authors: Martin
authors: M
authors: Maršala
authors: Jozef
authors: J
authors: Langfort
authors: Malgorzata
authors: M
authors: Chalimoniuk
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D009046:Motor Neurons / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism*; D052248:Nitric Oxide Synthase Type I / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism*; D010320:Parvalbumins / Q000032:analysis* / Q000276:immunology; D011817:Rabbits; D011903:Raphe Nuclei / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D010320:Parvalbumins; D052248:Nitric Oxide Synthase Type I