Anatomical location of Macrophage Migration Inhibitory Factor in urogenital tissues, peripheral ganglia and lumbosacral spinal cord of the rat

Pedro L Vera,Katherine L Meyer-Siegler

doi:10.1186/1471-2202-4-17

Abstract

BackgroundPrevious work suggested that macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) may be involved in bladder inflammation. Therefore, the location of MIF was determined immunohistochemically in the bladder, prostate, major pelvic ganglia, sympathetic chain, the L6-S1 dorsal root ganglia (DRG) and the lumbosacral spinal cord of the rat.ResultsIn the pelvic organs, MIF immunostaining was prominent in the epithelia. MIF was widely present in neurons in the MPG and the sympathetic chain. Some of those neurons also co-localized tyrosine hydroxylase (TH). In the DRGs, some of the neurons that stained for MIF also stained for Substance P. In the lumbosacral spinal cord, MIF immunostaining was observed in the white mater, the dorsal horn, the intermediolateral region and in the area around the central canal. Many cells were intensely stained for MIF and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) suggesting they were glial cells. However, some cells in the lumbosacral dorsal horn were MIF positive, GFAP negative cells suggestive of neurons.ConclusionsTherefore, MIF, a pro-inflammatory cytokine, is localized to pelvic organs and also in neurons of the peripheral and central nervous tissues that innervate those organs. Changes in MIF's expression at the end organ and at peripheral and central nervous system sites suggest that MIF is involved in pelvic viscera inflammation and may act at several levels to promote inflammatory changes.

Highlights

Previous work suggested that macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) may be involved in bladder inflammation
MIF in the Major Pelvic Ganglia, Inferior Mesenteric Ganglia and Sympathetic Chain MIF staining was observed in cells of the major pelvic ganglia (MPG) of both males and female rats
Results from the present study establish that MIF protein is located in epithelia and smooth muscle in two pelvic organs, the bladder and the prostate

Summary

Introduction

Previous work suggested that macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) may be involved in bladder inflammation. The location of MIF was determined immunohistochemically in the bladder, prostate, major pelvic ganglia, sympathetic chain, the L6-S1 dorsal root ganglia (DRG) and the lumbosacral spinal cord of the rat. MIF protein and mRNA were detected by Western blotting techniques and RT-PCR in the major pelvic ganglia (MPG) that provides efferent (parasympathetic and sympathetic) innervation to the bladder and other pelvic viscera [12,13]. The L6-S1 dorsal root ganglia (DRG) that provide afferent innervation to the bladder [13] and other pelvic viscera constitutively expressed MIF. The lumbosacral spinal cord of the rat where afferent and efferent information is integrated to result in effective pelvic viscera function [14], was shown to contain MIF protein and mRNA

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