Acetylcholinesterase Activity, and Neurofilament Protein, and Catecholamine Synthesizing Enzymes Immunoreactivities in the Mouse Adrenal Gland during Postnatal Development.

Abstract

ABSTRACT. The present study showed the acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity, and neurofilament protein (NFP), catecholaminesynthesizing enzymes, dopamine β-hydroxylase (DBH) and phenylethanolamine N-methyltransferase (PNMT) immunoreactivities in the mouse adrenal gland during postnatal development. From birth to postnatal-1-day, AChE activity was weakly and diffusely found in some medullary cells and in very few nerve fibers whereas strong NFP immunoreactivity was seen in a few ganglion cells and in remarkably numerous nerve fibers in the medulla. Almost all meduallary cells were reactive for both DBH and PNMT during this period. From postnatal-2-or -3-day to postnatal-1-week, strong AChE activity was observed in a few large ganglion cells, but the reaction was weak in clusters of chromaffin cells, and the number of strong AChE-active nerve fibers in the medulla was rapidly increased. From postnatal-2-day onwards, the number of NFP-immunoreactive nerve fibers in the medulla were remarkably numerous. Numerous chromaffin cells were reactive for both DBH and PNMT whereas some chromaffin cells were reactive for only DBH from postnatal-2-day onwards. These results suggest that drastic changes such as an increase of acetylcholine in the nerve fibers, differentiation of noradrenaline and adrenaline cells of the medulla may occur during this period. From postnatal-2-week to postnatal-3-week, weak AChE activity was seen in the culsters of several chromaffin cells and a few ganglion cells, and the number of AChE-active nerve fibers in the medulla was gradually increased. From postnatal-4-week to postnatal-8-week (adult), the distribution and frequency of AChE activity in the adrenal gland were similar to those at postnatal-3-week. In the adult, AChE activity was weakly seen in the clusters of several chromaffin cells showing noradrenaline fluorescence in the adrenal medulla. The noradrenaline cells were contacted by denser AChE-reactive nerve fibers than adrenaline cells. These results suggest that the development of cholinergic nervous system in the mouse adrenal medulla may be completed by postnatal-3-week.-KEY WORDS: acetylcholinesterase, adrenal gland, catecholamine-synthesizing-enzyme, neurofilament protein, postnatal development.J. Vet. Med. Sci. 61(6): 621-629, 1999 catecholamine synthesizing enzymes, dopamine β-hydroxylase (DBH) and phenylethanolamine N-methyltransferase (PNMT) immunoreactivities, and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity in the chromaffin cells and nerve fibers of the mouse adrenal gland during postnatal development, and discuss the time of functional innervation and of completion of the cholinergic nervous system in the mouse developing adrenal gland. MATERIALS AND METHODSThis study was carried out with animals in accordance with the Guideline for Animal Experiments in Asahikawa Medical College. Male and female mice (Balb/c) were used in this study. Adrenal gland was collected from the mouse at birth (postnatal-0-day), at postnatal-1-, -2-, -3-, -4-day, at postnatal-1-, -2-, -3-, -4-, -6-, -7-...

Gap junction signalling is a stress-regulated component of adrenal neuroendocrine stimulus-secretion coupling in vivo

“…It is noteworthy that not only basal but also evoked E release is much larger than NE release. This is consistent with the fact that mouse chromaffin cells mainly exhibit an adrenergic phenotype (80% of epinephrine-containing cells 16 ).…”

Substance P Immunoreactivity in the Rat Adrenal Gland during Postnatal Development

“…Other study has shown that AChE-active nerve fibers were found in large numbers and preferentially innervated NA cells rather than A cells in the mouse adrenal medulla [8]. However, the present study did not show such preferential innervation to NA cells and A cells in the rat adrenal medulla by SP-immunoreactive nerve fibers until postnatal week 2.…”

“…These results indicated the possibility that the functional innervation with SP-immunoreactive nerve fibers in the rat adrenal medulla was incomplete at postnatal week 3. Other studies have demonstrated that the number of AChE-active or AChE-immunoreactive nerve fibers reached the numbers observed in adults on postnatal day 16 or postnatal week 3 [6,8]. Furthermore, we demonstrated that the dense networks of SP-immunoreactive nerve fibers in the medulla surrounded the clusters of NA cells but not A cells from postnatal week 3 onward.…”

“…Other studies have reported neurofila-ment immunoreactivity with a moderately dense network of the nerve fibers in the rat and mouse adrenal medulla in the early postnatal stage [6,8]. Although, very small number of acetylcholinesterase (AChE)-immunoreactive or AChEactive nerve fibers were found in the mouse and rat adrenal medulla at postnatal day 2 or 3, the number of those dramatically increased in the medulla from this stage [6,8]. Despite such drastic changes in the number of neural elements in the adrenal medulla, the present study revealed that there were very few SP-immunoreactive nerve fibers in the rat adrenal medulla during these stages.…”

Maternal Perinatal Undernutrition Alters Postnatal Development of Chromaffin Cells in the Male Rat Adrenal Medulla

“…The process of CC segregation within the adrenal medulla is closely associated with the differential innervation between homophenotypic noradrenergic and adrenergic clusters, thus promoting the differential adrenaline secretion response to neural stimuli [33,34,35]. During postnatal development, AChE activity was preferentially observed in nerve fibres in contact with CC clusters in the rat adrenal medulla [34].…”