Abstract
The neurotransmitter features in sympathetic neurons are subject to change during development (Masliukov, Timmermans, 2004). For better understanding the neuroplasticity of sympathetic neurons during early postnatal ontogenesis, the purpose of this study was to investigate the development of the catecholaminergic, cholinergic and peptidergic phenotypes in the superior cervical ganglion (SCG) and celiac ganglia (CG) neurons. The present study was performed in rats of different ages (newborn, 10-, 20-, 30-, 60-day-old) under a lethal dose of sodium pentobarbital (Nembutal, 300 mg/kg, i.p.). Immunohistochemistry for tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), choline acetyltransferase (ChAT), vasoactive intestinal (poly)peptide (VIP), neuropeptide Y (NPY), somatostatin (SOM), substance P (SP) and histochemical method for NADPH-diaphorase was applied. The results obtained indicate that the majority of the sympathetic neurons in the SCG and CG were TH-positive from birth onwards. A large part of sympathetic neurons also contained NPY. The percentage of neurons containing TH and NPY invariably increased with age up to 60 days postnatally. The percentage of NPY neurons was lower in the CG in accordance with SCG. Only few neurons contained VIP- and ChAT in the sympathetic ganglia in all ages under study. The population of SOM-positive neurons was substantially greater in the CG in comparison with the SCG. The percentage of SOM-positive cells in the SCG significantly decreased from birth onwards and we observed only single cells in 10-day-old and older animals. Meanwhile, the proportion of SOM-immunoreactive cells in the CG was not change during the development. SP was found in single neurons in the CG and SCG. NADPH-diaphorase positive cells were absent in the SCG and CG. In conclusion, the neurotransmitter composition in the SCG, CG and IG is present even in newborn animals. However, these ganglia develop heterochronously. Finally, the neurotransmitter set becomes complete by the second month of life.
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