Expression of C1q, a subcomponent of the rat complement system, is dramatically enhanced in brains of rats with either Borna disease or experimental allergic encephalomyelitis.

In situ hybridization, RT-PCR and Northern blot analysis as well immunohistochemistry were used to examine the expression of C1q, a subcomponent of the rat complement system, in brains of rats infected with Borna disease virus (BDV) and rats afflicted with experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE) induced by the adoptive transfer of myelin basic protein specific T cells. C1q mRNA, which was not detected in normal brain, became clearly detectable using RT-PCR analysis by d14 post infection (p.i.) with BDV. Maximal levels of C1q mRNA were reached 21 days p.i. when inflammatory reactions in the brain were also at a peak. Similarly, C1q mRNA was elevated when the clinical symptoms of EAE be…

Regional specificities in the distribution, chemical phenotypes, and coexistence patterns of neuropeptide containing nerve fibres in the human anal canal

Despite the pivotal clinical significance of the human anal canal, little is known about its total and specific innervation. This study assessed the comparative distribution and histotopology of nerve fibres immunoreactive for neural markers and a variety of regulatory active neuropeptides in the human anal canal by light microscopic immunohistochemistry. Depending on the epithelial zone and region of the anal canal, the neural elements were differentially immunoreactive for the pan-neural marker protein gene product 9.5, the catecholamine marker tyrosine hydroxylase, the neuroendocrine marker chromogranin A, and various neuropeptides. Protein gene product 9.5-immunoreactive nerve fibres we…

Protein gene product (PGP) 9.5 immunoreactivity in nerve fibres and pinealocytes of guinea-pig pineal gland: interrelationship with tyrosine- hydroxylase- and neuropeptide-Y-immunoreactive nerve fibres.

This light-microscopic (LM) immunohistochemical study has evaluated the presence and distribution of the pan-neural and neuroendocrine marker protein gene product (PGP) 9.5 in pinealocytes and nerve fibres of guinea-pig pineal gland. The pattern of PGP 9.5-immunoreactive (ir) nerve fibres has been compared with that of fibres staining for tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) or neuropeptide Y (NPY). The vast majority of pinealocytes stained for PGP 9.5, although with variable intensity. PGP 9.5 immunoreactivity was localized in pinealocytic cell bodies and processes. Double-immunofluorescence revealed that PGP 9.5 immunoreactivity was absent from glial cells identified with a monoclonal antibody again…

Molecular Anatomical Basis of Interactions between Nervous and Immune Systems in Health and Disease

Traditionally, the nervous and immune systems have been regarded to function largely independently of each other. Interdisciplinary investigations of the recent past, however, have demonstrated that the nervous and immune systems have close functional interrelationships at several nodal intersections (Ader & Cohen, 1993; Besedovsky & del Rey, 1996b; Felten & Felten, 1994; Ottaway & Husband, 1994; Weihe, Nohr, Michel, Muller, Zentel, Fink, & Krekel, 1991a). Transmitters of the nervous system act on immune cells and messengers of the immune system influence the nervous system. Typical neuronal messengers appear to be synthesized in immune cells, and typical immune cell messengers appear to be…

The Tachykinin Neuroimmune Connection in Inflammatory Pain

Distribution of the vesicular acetylcholine transporter (VAChT) in the central and peripheral nervous systems of the rat.

Expression of the acetylcholine biosynthetic enzyme choline acetyltransferase (ChAT), the vesicular acetylcholine transporter (VAChT), and the high-affinity plasma membrane choline transporter uniquely defines the cholinergic phenotype in the mammalian central (CNS) and peripheral (PNS) nervous systems. The distribution of cells expressing the messenger RNA encoding the recently cloned VAChT in the rat CNS and PNS is described here. The pattern of expression of VAChT mRNA is consistent with anatomical, pharmacological, and histochemical information on the distribution of functional cholinergic neurons in the brain and peripheral tissues of the rat. VAChT mRNA-containing cells are present in…

Pro-enkephalin opioid peptides are abundant in porcine and bovine splenic nerves, but absent from nerves of rat, mouse, hamster, and guinea-pig spleen

The opioidergic innervation of the mammalian spleen and possible species differences were investigated. Light-microscopic immunohistochemistry revealed that splenic nerves of bovine and porcine spleen, but not of rat, mouse, hamster and guinea-pig spleen contained proenkephalin-derived opioidergic innervation. Immunoreactivity to both prodynorphin and pro-opiomelanocortin was absent from splenic nerves. In bovine and porcine spleen, fibers immunoreactive for met-enkephalin, met-enkephalin-Arg-Phe, met-enkephalin-Arg-Gly-Leu, leu-enkephalin and peptide F formed perivascular plexus, traveled in trabecular connective tissue, and extended into the capsule. Spatial relationships with immune cell…

Distribution and coexistence of chromogranin A-, serotonin-and pancreastatin-like immunoreactivity in endocrine-like cells of the human anal canal

The comparative distribution and coexistence of chromogranin A (CGA)-, serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine; 5-HT)- and pancreastatin (PST)-like immunoreactivity in endocrine-like cells of the human anal canal was investigated by light-microscopic immunocytochemistry. The largest population of colorectal endocrine-like cells consisted of CGA-immunoreactive (ir) cells, followed by the 5-HT-ir and PST-ir cell population. In the anal transitional zone (ATZ), CGA- and 5-HT-immunoreactivity was equally distributed; ir-PST was confined to a smaller endocrine-like cell population. In the squamous zone and the perianal skin, Merkel cells in the basal layer of the epidermis and hair follicles exhibited ir…

Neurochemical anatomy of the mammalian spinal cord: Functional implications

Immunohistochemical localization of the pro-peptide processing enzymes PC1/PC3 and PC2 in the human anal canal.

Abstract HORsch, D., R. Day, N. G. Seidah, E. Weihe and M. K.-H. SchAFer. Immunohistochemical localization of the pro-peptide processing enzymes PC1/PC3 and PC2 in the human anal canal. Peptides 18(5) 755–760, 1997.—The distribution of prohormone/pro-peptide convertases PC1/PC3 and PC2 was investigated in the human anal canal by immunohistochemistry. Both prohormone convertases exhibited region-specific distribution patterns and were observed in neural and neuroendocrine cells and in nonneuroendocrine cellular elements. PC1/PC3 immunoreactivity was present in enteric neurons, subsets of nerve fibers, and neuroendocrine cells, and also in epithelial cells like intestinal stem cells, and a su…

Multiplicity of Opioidergic Pathways Related to Cardiovascular Innervation: Differential Contribution of All Three Opioid Precursors

The endogenous opioid family consists of the three precursors proenkephalin (proenkephalin A), prodynorphin (proenkephalin B), and proopiomelanocortin (POMC), from which various opioid and nonopioid peptides can be processed, apparently in a tissue-specific manner (cf. Civelli et al. 1984; Goldstein 1984; Herz 1984; Udenfriend and Kilpatrick 1984; Civelli et al. 1985; Khachaturian et al. 1985; Kosterlitz 1985). Their distribution in areas of the CNS which are involved in cardiovascular regulation is well documented. The biochemistry and functions of endocrine (pituitary and adrenal) opioids have also been well characterized (cf. Millan and Herz 1985). The conception that endocrine and CNS o…

Changes in pulmonary calcitonin gene-related peptide and protein gene product 9.5 innervation in rats infected with Mycoplasma pulmonis.

Changes in the expression of calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) and polyneural protein gene product 9.5 (PGP) in hilar peribronchial innervation was investigated by immunohistochemistry in specific pathogen-free rats chronically infected with Mycoplasma pulmonis. Image analysis of immunostained sections revealed a reduction of approximately 62% in the amount of CGRP- and PGP-immunoreactive innervation of the peribronchial area in the infected animals. The portion of the total bronchial perimeter occupied by bronchus-associated lymphoid tissue was increased six-fold. The decrease in the CGRP-immunoreactive area could be the result either of an enhanced CGRP release or of a loss of nerve …

Chapter 21 Immunohistochemical evidence for a co-transmitter role of opioid peptides in primary sensory neurons

Publisher Summary The purpose of this chapter is to answer several open questions regarding opioid peptides by using a highly sensitive light microscopic (LM) immunohistochemical approach. The chapter mentions the immunohistochemical evidence for a co-transmitter role of opioid peptides in primary sensory neurons. It introduces the concept that there is a functionally important tandem constellation of transmitters in a specific nociceptive population of primary sensory afferents consisting of (1) an inhibitory transmitter family, the opioid peptides, and (2) an excitatory transmitter family, the tachykinins. Small-diameter primary sensory neurons not only transmit nociceptive messages to ce…

Coexpression of vasoactive intestinal peptide, calcitonin gene-related peptide and substance P immunoreactivity in parasympathetic neurons of the rhesus monkey lung

Abstract By the use of light microscopic immunohistochemistry, the present study investigates whether substance P (SP) and calcitonin generelated peptide (CGRP), which are well documented neurotransmitter candidates in primary sensory fibers, are also expressed in parasympathetic neurons of the rhesus monkey lung. A combination of double fluorescence immunohistochemistry and staining of adjacent sections revealed triple coexistence of SP, CGRP and the cholinergic co-transmitter vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) in a large number of neuronal cell bodies in intrinsic peribronchial ganglia. In addition, there was co-localization of SP and CGRP in choline acetyltransferase (ChAT)-positive neu…

Capsaicin desensitization in vivo is inhibited by ruthenium red.

The effect of systemic administration of Ruthenium Red on the excitatory and desensitizing effect of capsaicin was investigated in rats. Ruthenium Red was injected s.c. 30 min before capsaicin was administered. The excitatory effect of capsaicin on corneal, perivascular and visceral afferents was not influenced by treatment with Ruthenium Red. However, determination of the neuropeptide content and evoked neuropeptide release in peripheral organs and dorsal spinal cord 48 h after treatment showed that Ruthenium Red attenuated the 'desensitizing' effect of capsaicin at peripheral, but not at central, endings of primary afferents. On the other hand, a capsaicin-elicited autonomic reflex mediat…

Immunohistochemical evidence for the presence of peptides derived from proenkephalin, prodynorphin and proopiomelanocortin in the guinea pig pineal gland

By using a plethora of region-specific antisera, this light microscopic immunohistochemical study revealed that derivatives from the three opioid precursors, i.e. proenkephalin, prodynorphin and proopiomelanocortin are differentially distributed in the pineal gland of guinea pig. Various molecular forms of immunoreactive opioid peptides derived from proenkephalin or prodynorphin were present in a minority of pinealocytes as well as in nerves. In contrast to this dual distribution pattern of opioid-active peptides, the opioid-inactive derivative from proopiomelanocortin, alpha-melanocyte stimulating hormone, was exclusively present in a large proportion of pinealocytes. A multiple and differ…

Peptide neuroanatomy of adjuvant-induced arthritic inflammation in rat

The influence of adjuvant-induced arthritis of the rat on central and peripheral peptide neuroanatomy was investigated by immunohistochemistry. The most striking feature of arthritic rats was the differential intensification of neuronal proenkephalin- and prodynorphin-related staining in dorsal horn. Changes were ipsilateral in monoarthritic and bilateral in polyarthritic rats as compared to controls. Opioid responsive neurons were target of substance P (SP) and calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) fibers. Changes of SP and CGRP predominated in peripheral inflamed tissue and consisted of intensified immunostaining and an apparent sprouting of sensory fibers particularly around venules, in…

Distribution and kinetics of superantigen-induced cytokine gene expression in mouse spleen.

The polyclonal stimulation of T cells by bacterial superantigens is involved in the pathogenesis of the toxic shock syndrome in certain staphylococcal and streptococcal infections. Here we describe the onset and kinetics of superantigen-induced cytokine production in situ in spleens of normal BALB/c mice monitored at the level of cytokine mRNA expression by in situ hybridization. Messenger RNAs for interleukin 2 (IL-2), interferon gamma, and tumor necrosis factors (TNF) alpha and beta were not expressed at detectable levels in spleens of unstimulated animals but became visible already 30 min after intraperitoneal application of 50 micrograms staphylococcal enterotoxin B. All mRNA levels sho…

Chromogranin A in the Mammalian Merkel Cell: Cellular and Subcellular Distribution

Chromogranin-A (CGA), which accounts for more than half the soluble matrix protein in secretory granules of various neuroendocrine cells, has a wide spectrum of potential biological roles and is considered an important marker of the diffuse neuroendocrine system (DNES). Light and electron microscopic immunohistochemistry of mammalian skin revealed that Merkel cells are exclusively CGA-immunoreactive (ir) and that the immunoreaction is localized in the secretory granules. This finding supports the classification of the Merkel cell as a member of the DNES. The CGA immunoreactivity was restricted to Merkel cells of pigs and humans. In human embryonic skin, CGA was expressed in Merkel cells as …

Immunohistochemical analysis of chromogranin A and multiple peptides in the mammalian Merkel cell: further evidence for its paraneuronal function?

By the use of light microscopic immunohistochemistry, epidermal Merkel cells have been examined for the coexistence of some neuropeptides and chromogranin A (CGA). Peptide and CGA-immunophenotypes were similar in adult Merkel cells but variable in fetal skin, where CGA preceded the expression of peptides which were partly expressed only in a subpopulation of Merkel cells from hair follicles. Thus, only Substance P (SP) and calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) were expressed in a subpopulation of Merkel cells from hair follicles. There were similar Merkel cell densities visualized on consecutive paraffin sections by the use of antisera against peptides, CGA and cytokeratin offering useful …

Neuropeptides in Primary Afferent Neurons

Traditionally, the primary sensory neurons, having their perikarya in the spinal or cranial sensory ganglia with processes directed towards the periphery and the central nervous system, have been regarded to function as receptive and afferent systems which reflexly activate central effector systems.1 This, however, does not apply to the small diameter primary afferents as suggested by the observation made about a century ago that antidromic stimulation of transected dorsal roots or sensory nerves caused vasodilatation and inflammatory signs in the skin.2,3 The novel concept which has been confirmed by many investigators ascribes to small diameter (particularly unmyelinated C) primary sensor…

The distinct gene expression of the pro-hormone convertases in the rat heart suggests potential substrates

The present study examined the distribution of the pro-hormone convertases PC1, PC2, furin, PACE4 and PC5 in the rat heart. Northern blot analysis of RNA extracted from cardiac tissues showed high levels of furin and PACE4 mRNA in the atria and ventricles, while PC5 mRNA was found to be expressed at high levels in the dorsal aorta. Although undetectable by Northern blot analysis, both PC1 and PC2 mRNA were detected by in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry in discrete regions of the intracardiac para-aortic ganglia. In situ hybridization studies also showed that furin mRNA was observed in all cardiac tissues and cells, consistent with the previously reported ubiquitous expression of…

Complement C1q is dramatically up-regulated in brain microglia in response to transient global cerebral ischemia.

Abstract Recent evidence suggests that the pathophysiology of neurodegenerative and inflammatory neurological diseases has a neuroimmunological component involving complement, an innate humoral immune defense system. The present study demonstrates the effects of experimentally induced global ischemia on the biosynthesis of C1q, the recognition subcomponent of the classical complement activation pathway, in the CNS. Using semiquantitative in situ hybridization, immunohistochemistry, and confocal laser scanning microscopy, a dramatic and widespread increase of C1q biosynthesis in rat brain microglia (but not in astrocytes or neurons) within 24 h after the ischemic insult was observed. A marke…

Calcitonin gene related peptide gene expression in collagen-induced arthritis

On a evalue par hybridation in situ semi-quantitative les variations de l'expression genique du peptide lie au gene de la calcitonine (CGRP) dans les motoneurones spinaux et dans les ganglions des racines dorsales (GRD) de rats chez lesquels l'arthrite a ete induite par l'administration de collagene II (AIC). On a examine les effets d'un traitement systemique avec le corticosteroide budesonide sur l'expression basale du CGRP ainsi que sur ses variations dans des conditions d'inflammation. Dans les GRD, l'AIC a induit une augmentation significative des taux d'ARNm du CGRP. Le budesonide a reduit les taux d'ARNm du CGRP constitutif de ces GRD comparativement a ceux des rats temoins non traite…

Inflammation-induced upregulation of NK1 receptor mRNA in dorsal horn neurones

The expression of the neurokinin 1 (NK1) receptor (i.e. substance P receptor) gene in spinal cord was studied in rats subjected to unilateral inflammation by semi-quantitative in situ hybridization analysis. Low levels of NK1 receptor mRNA were detected in many neurones throughout the grey matter. Relatively strong labelling was observed in large motoneurones and a subpopulation of superficial dorsal horn neurones. Six days after Freund's adjuvant-induced unilateral hindpaw inflammation, NK1 receptor mRNA levels in lamina I/II of the dorsal horn ipsilateral to the inflamed paw increased almost two fold compared with the contralateral side. These data suggest an inflammation-induced increase…

Neurotransmitter in Pankreasnerven: Ein Beitrag zur Schmerzgenese bei chronischer Pankreatitis

Ursache und Pathogenese des langjahrigen Schmerzsyndromes bei chronischer Pankreatitis sind nach wie vor ungeklart. Ein neues Konzept der Schmerzgenese bei chronischer Pankreatitis, namlich spezifische Veranderungen an den Pankreasnerven, wurde vor kurzem erstmals beschrieben (1). Es handelt sich hierbei neben einer Vermehrung und Grosenzunahme von extrinsischen und intrinsischen neuralen Strukturen im Pankreas um eine Zerstorung des perineuralen Bindegewebes, welches als wirksame Schutzbarriere gegenuber humoralen und cellularen Einflussen im gesunden menschlichen Pankreas fungiert.

Molecular anatomy of the neuro-immune connection.

Light microscopic immunohistochemistry was employed to elucidate and compare the presence, distribution, and coexistence of various peptides, neuroendocrine markers and enzymes of the catecholamine pathway in nerves supplying lymphoid tissues in a variety of mammalian species. All lymphoid organs and tissues receive innervation by fibers containing dopamine-beta-hydroxylase and/or tyrosine hydroxylase, neural markers like protein gene product 9.5, synaptophysin and neurofilament and a varied spectrum of peptides. The prominent peptides were tachykinins (substance P, neurokinin A), calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), neuropeptide Y (NPY), and vasoactive intestinal polypeptide/peptide his…

Chapter 20 Multiple messenger candidates and marker substances in the mammalian Merkel cell – axon complex: a light and electron microscopic immunohistochemical study

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses multiple messenger candidates and marker substances in the mammalian merkel cell—axon complex. According to the APUD theory, cells of the diffuse neuroendocrine system (DNES) are essentially characterized by containing amines, peptides and marker substances like neuronspecific enolase (NSE) and chromogranin A (CGA). By the comparison of the histotopography of immunostained peptides, CGA and neuroendocrine markers, there was an expectation to find out the most appropriate immunohistochemical marker of the Merkel cell and to get further insight into the complex chemo-anatomy and possible functional spectrum of the Merkel cell -axon complex at various d…

Peptidergic Innervation in Chronic Pancreatitis

The reason for the generation and continuation of chronic pain in chronic pancreatitis is unclear [6, 10, 11, 13, 61, 117]. Current concepts of the neurobiology of pain point to the possible role of various neuropeptides in pain processing and inflammation [8, 29, 32, 33, 44, 60, 64, 65, 68, 79, 104, 112]. A key function has been ascribed to the proinflammatory and pronociceptive peptides of the tachykininin (TK) family (8, 44, 104, 109]. That the tachykinin substance P (SP) may be involved in chronic inflammatory and painful disease of the gastrointestinal system is evidenced by a selective increase in the density of tachykinin receptors in the bowels of patients suffering from Crohn’s dis…

Distribution of Met-enkephalyl-Arg-Gly-Leu in rat larynx: partial coexistence with vasoactive intestinal polypeptide, peptide histidine isoleucine and neuropeptide Y.

Abstract Using light microscopic (LM) enzyme-immunohistochemistry on deparaffinized adjacent sections Met-enkephalyl-Arg-Gly-Leu (ME-RGL) immunoreactivity was found to partially coexist with immunoreactive neuropeptide Y (NPY), vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) and peptide histidine isoleucine (PHI) in intrinsic laryngeal neurons of the rat. Further ME-RGL-immunoreactive (ir) fibres were found around glands in the subepithelium, in connective tissue of striated muscle and in the perichondrium, as well as around arterial and venous blood vessels. They frequently contacted mast cells and macrophages. The presence of ME-RGL indicates pro-enkephalin-related origin of this novel laryngeal …

Tachykinin-, calcitonin gene-related peptide-, and protein gene product 9.5-immunoreactive nerve fibers in alveolar walls of mammals.

The presence and distribution of the presumed pan-neural marker protein gene product 9.5 (PGP)- and peptide-immunoreactive (ir) nerve fibers in alveolar walls of various species was investigated by light microscopic single and double staining immunohistochemistry. PGP-, tachykinin (TK)-, and calcitonin gene-related peptide (CRGP)-ir fibers were sparsely distributed in a similar pattern in alveolar walls of all species investigated. No vasoactive intestinal peptide-, peptide histidine isoleucine-, galanin-, and opioid-ir nerve fibers could be detected. PGP-ir fibers outnumbered those staining for TKs and CGRP. There was partial coexistence of PGP and TK as well as of TK and CRGP. PGP-, TK-, …

Cytopathologic and neurochemical correlates of progression to motor/cognitive impairment in SIV-infected rhesus monkeys.

Neurochemical, pathologic, virologic, and histochemical correlates of simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV)-associated central nervous system (CNS) dysfunction were assessed serially or at necropsy in rhesus monkeys that exhibited motor and cognitive deficits after SIV infection. Some infected monkeys presented with signs of acquired immunodeficiency disease (AIDS) at the time of sacrifice. Seven of eight animals exhibited motor skill impairment which was associated with elevated quinolinic acid in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Examination of the brains revealed diffuse increases in glial fibrillary acidic protein immunoreacti vity in cerebral cortex in all animals, regardless of evidence of imm…

Regional distribution of opioidergic nerves in human and canine prostates

The regional distribution of opioidergic nerves in the juvenile and adult human prostate and in the adult canine prostate has been studied immunohistochemically using well-characterized polyclonal antisera against multiple opioid peptides. Nerves displaying immunoreactivity (ir) for the proenkephalin (PRO-ENK) derivatives met-enkephalin (ME), leuenkephalin (LE), octapeptide, and heptapeptide (ordered in decreasing frequency) were present in the dorsolateral stroma of human prostate. In canine prostate, the situation was similar, but the number of opioid-ir nerve fibers was lower than in human prostate. In both species, staining for the prodynorphin (PRO-DYN) derivatives dynorphin A and alph…

Atrial natriuretic factor-like immunoreactivity in spinal cord and in primary sensory neurons of spinal and trigeminal ganglia of guinea-pig: correlation with tachykinin immunoreactivity*

Atrial natriuretic factor (ANF) is a cardiac hormone with various functions in body homeostasis. It is also processed in the brain and in the peripheral nervous system where it appears to play a role as a neuromodulator. Little is known about the presence of ANF throughout the spinal cord of the guinea-pig. We therefore examined the distribution of ANF and its possible interrelation with primary sensory afferents in this species. Using enzyme- and fluorescence-immunohistochemistry on deparaffinized sections, ANF-like immunoreactivity was found to be present in nerve fibers in laminae I/II of the spinal cord and in neurons of spinal and trigeminal ganglia. Tachykinins and ANF coexisted in ve…

Electron microscopic immunogold cytochemistry reveals chromogranin A confined to secretory granules of porcine Merkel cells

By ultrastructural immunohistochemistry using the immunogold technique, immunoreactive (ir) Chromogranin A (CGA) was found to be confined to the secretory vesicles of porcine Merkel cells. CGA was present predominantly in the periphery of the electron-dense core and on the clear halo. These findings indicate that CGA is a regular constituent of Merkel cell secretory granules but probably not exclusively responsible for their electron opacity.

Cortical astrocytosis in juvenile rhesus monkeys infected with simian immunodeficiency virus

The pattern of expression of GFAP immunoreactivity in astrocytes of the juvenile rhesus monkey cortex was examined following infection with simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV). Blocks of cerebral cortex plus subjacent white matter from saline- and formalin-perfused brain were examined by peroxidase-linked immunochemical and immunofluorescence staining of deparaffinized sections. Strong GFAP immunoreactivity was found in astrocytic cells in both uninfected and SIV-infected juvenile macaque in the subpial cerebral cortex and in subcortical white matter, where GFAP-positive cells were abundant. GFAP staining of cortical layers 2-6 on the other hand was weak or absent in three uninfected contro…

Regulation of Cellular Phenotype in the Nociceptive Pathway

Differential expression of mRNA encoding interleukin-12 p35 and p40 subunitsin situ

Interleukin-12 (IL-12) is a heterodimeric cytokine that plays an important role in the regulation of the immune response. For biological activity the expression of both subunits of IL-12, p35 and p40, is required. Moreover, in the mouse the p40 chain of IL-12 specifically inhibits the effects of the IL-12 heterodimer. In the present study we have analyzed by in situ hybridization the expression of the p35 and p40 mRNA in the spleens of BALB/c and mutant (SCID, nude, beige) mice, unstimulated and after in vivo stimulation with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and with staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB). In unstimulated spleens of BALB/c mice p35 and p40 mRNA were only detectable in a few strongly st…

Changes of protein gene product 9.5 (PGP 9.5) immunoreactive nerves in inflamed appendix.

The existence of chronic appendicitis is controversial. In this prospective study, we investigated possible changes in the innervation of the appendix under different pathological conditions and correlated histological findings with clinical observation. Thirty appendectomy specimens and 14 appendices obtained from organ donors or patients who underwent right hemicolectomy were immediately fixed in Bouin's solution and processed for immunocytochemistry using an antiserum directed against the panneuronal marker protein gene product 9.5 (PGP 9.5). The density of PGP 9.5 immunostaining was evaluated by digitized morphometry. Significant differences in the density of the PGP 9.5-immunoreactive …

AIDS and the Central Nervous System: Examining Pathobiology and Testing Therapeutic Strategies in the SIV-Infected Rhesus Monkey