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…

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…

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…

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…

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