Abstract
It has been suggested that serotonin serves as a neurotransmitter in the horseshoe crab, Limulus polyphemus. While some studies of identified groups of central neurons have been conducted, little is known concerning the neuronal organization in Limulus central ganglia. This study was undertaken to determine the localization of serotoninergic neurons in the opisthosomal ventral nerve cord of Limulus and to construct a basis for further comparative biochemical and pharmacological studies of the specific function of these neurons. Endogenous serotonin was detected in the ventral nerve cord (chain of abdominal ganglia) by high-performance liquid chromatography and electrochemical detection (HPLC-EC). Endogenous serotonin was quantified in the 9th through 13th ganglia, anterior (hemal) nerves, posterior (branchial) nerves, and connectives. The serotonin content in the abdominal ganglia was significantly reduced when the ganglia were incubated for 24 hours in Leibovitz's (L-15) medium containing reserpine or 5,7-dihydroxytryptamine (5,7-DHT), neurotoxins that block the uptake of serotonin into storage vesicles. The distribution of serotonin-immunoreactive neurons in the ventral nerve cord was determined by indirect immunocytochemistry. Treatment of the chain of ganglia with an anti-serotonin antiserum followed by treatment with a fluorescent-labeled antiserum raised against the primary antibody demonstrated specific staining in each ganglion, the ganglionic roots, and connectives. Clusters of serotonin-immunoreactive neurons were observed anteriolaterally and posteriorly in each ganglion. Processes from dense fiber bundles extended from these clusters of neurons to the central region of each ganglion. These results demonstrate that serotonin-immunoreactive neurons are present in the opisthosomal ventral nerve cord of the horseshoe crab and that serotonin may function as a neurotransmitter.
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