title: Alterations in the neural circuits from peripheral afferents to the spinal cord: possible implications for diabetic polyneuropathy in streptozotocin-induced type 1 diabetic rats.
abstract: Diabetic polyneuropathy (DPN) presents as a wide variety of sensorimotor symptoms and affects approximately 50% of diabetic patients. Changes in the neural circuits may occur in the early stages in diabetes and are implicated in the development of DPN. Therefore, we aimed to detect changes in the expression of isolectin B4 (IB4, the marker for nonpeptidergic unmyelinated fibers and their cell bodies) and calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP, the marker for peptidergic fibers and their cell bodies) in the dorsal root ganglion (DRG) and spinal cord of streptozotocin (STZ)-induced type 1 diabetic rats showing alterations in sensory and motor function. We also used cholera toxin B subunit (CTB) to show the morphological changes of the myelinated fibers and motor neurons. STZ-induced diabetic rats exhibited hyperglycemia, decreased body weight gain, mechanical allodynia and impaired locomotor activity. In the DRG and spinal dorsal horn, IB4-labeled structures decreased, but both CGRP immunostaining and CTB labeling increased from day 14 to day 28 in diabetic rats. In spinal ventral horn, CTB labeling decreased in motor neurons in diabetic rats. Treatment with intrathecal injection of insulin at the early stages of DPN could alleviate mechanical allodynia and impaired locomotor activity in diabetic rats. The results suggest that the alterations of the neural circuits between spinal nerve and spinal cord via the DRG and ventral root might be involved in DPN.
authors: Department of Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, K. K. Leung Brain Research Centre, The Fourth Military Medical University Xi'an, China.
authors: Zhen-Zhen
authors: ZZ
authors: Kou
authors: Department of Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, K. K. Leung Brain Research Centre, The Fourth Military Medical University Xi'an, China.
authors: Chun-Yu
authors: CY
authors: Li
authors: Department of Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, K. K. Leung Brain Research Centre, The Fourth Military Medical University Xi'an, China.
authors: Jia-Chen
authors: JC
authors: Hu
authors: Department of Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, K. K. Leung Brain Research Centre, The Fourth Military Medical University Xi'an, China.
authors: Jun-Bin
authors: JB
authors: Yin
authors: Department of Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, K. K. Leung Brain Research Centre, The Fourth Military Medical University Xi'an, China.
authors: Dong-Liang
authors: DL
authors: Zhang
authors: Department of Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, K. K. Leung Brain Research Centre, The Fourth Military Medical University Xi'an, China.
authors: Yong-Hui
authors: YH
authors: Liao
authors: Department of Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, K. K. Leung Brain Research Centre, The Fourth Military Medical University Xi'an, China.
authors: Zhen-Yu
authors: ZY
authors: Wu
authors: Department of Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, K. K. Leung Brain Research Centre, The Fourth Military Medical University Xi'an, China.
authors: Tan
authors: T
authors: Ding
authors: Department of Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, K. K. Leung Brain Research Centre, The Fourth Military Medical University Xi'an, China.
authors: Juan
authors: J
authors: Qu
authors: Department of Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, K. K. Leung Brain Research Centre, The Fourth Military Medical University Xi'an, China.
authors: Hui
authors: H
authors: Li
authors: Department of Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, K. K. Leung Brain Research Centre, The Fourth Military Medical University Xi'an, China.
authors: Yun-Qing
authors: YQ
authors: Li
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015740:Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide / Q000378:metabolism; D003921:Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology*; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology*; D003929:Diabetic Neuropathies / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005727:Ganglia, Spinal / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology; D037102:Lectins / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology*; D009475:Neurons, Afferent / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D017288:Pain Threshold / Q000502:physiology; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology*
chemical_list: D037102:Lectins; D015740:Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide
keywords: diabetic polyneuropathy; dorsal root ganglion; neural circuit; primary afferent; rat; spinal cord