Differential vulnerability of two subsets of spinal motor neurons in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

被引:23
作者
Wetts, R
Vaughn, JE
机构
[1] Division of Neurosciences, Beckman Res. Inst. of the City of H., Duarte, CA 91010
关键词
D O I
10.1006/exnr.1996.0159
中图分类号
Q189 [神经科学];
学科分类号
071006 ;
摘要
The primary objective of this study was to determine the pattern of motor neuron loss in thoracic spinal cord from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients. A prerequisite to this objective was to examine control human spinal cord with the techniques to be used for ALS specimens, Combined choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) immunocytochemistry and NADPH diaphorase histochemistry (a marker for nitric oxide synthase) revealed a staining pattern very similar to that seen in other mammals. Stained cell groups were present in the superficial dorsal horn (labeled only by diaphorase), the deep dorsal horn (double-labeled), the intermediate region (double-labeled), around the central canal (mostly double-labeled), autonomic motor neurons (AMNs; either double-labeled or ChAT-positive only), and somatic motor neurons (SMNs; ChAT-positive only). These similarities indicated that most cell types previously described in other mammals are present in human spinal cord. However, the percentage of AMNs that were double-labeled was much higher in humans (94%) than in rodents (approximately 66%) or in nonmammalian vertebrates (essentially 0%). In ALS, extensive loss of SMNs is known to occur in cervical and lumbar enlargements, and similarly, our specimens revealed a degeneration of nearly all SMNs in thoracic spinal cord. In contrast, the average number of AMNs in ALS specimens was not significantly different from that in controls, directly confirming clinical observations suggesting that AMNs do not degenerate in ALS. Most importantly, the percentage of AMNs that were diaphorase-negative was not decreased in ALS, indicating that AMN resistance in this degenerative neurological disorder probably is independent of nitric oxide synthase expression. (C) 1996 Academic Press, Inc.
引用
收藏
页码:248 / 255
页数:8
相关论文
共 70 条
[1]   NADPH DIAPHORASE-POSITIVE NEURONS IN THE RAT SPINAL-CORD INCLUDE A SUBPOPULATION OF AUTONOMIC PREGANGLIONIC NEURONS [J].
ANDERSON, CR .
NEUROSCIENCE LETTERS, 1992, 139 (02) :280-284
[2]   GENERATION PATTERNS OF IMMUNOCYTOCHEMICALLY IDENTIFIED CHOLINERGIC NEURONS AT AUTONOMIC LEVELS OF THE RAT SPINAL-CORD [J].
BARBER, RP ;
PHELPS, PE ;
VAUGHN, JE .
JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE NEUROLOGY, 1991, 311 (04) :509-519
[3]   THE MORPHOLOGY AND DISTRIBUTION OF NEURONS CONTAINING CHOLINE-ACETYLTRANSFERASE IN THE ADULT-RAT SPINAL-CORD - AN IMMUNOCYTOCHEMICAL STUDY [J].
BARBER, RP ;
PHELPS, PE ;
HOUSER, CR ;
CRAWFORD, GD ;
SALVATERRA, PM ;
VAUGHN, JE .
JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE NEUROLOGY, 1984, 229 (03) :329-346
[4]  
Behrens M. I., 1995, Society for Neuroscience Abstracts, V21, P484
[5]  
BERNHEIMER H, 1973, J NEUROL SCI, V20, P415, DOI 10.1016/0022-510X(73)90175-5
[6]   NITRIC-OXIDE SYNTHETASE (NOS)-CONTAINING SYMPATHOADRENAL CHOLINERGIC NEURONS OF THE RAT IML-CELL COLUMN - EVIDENCE FROM HISTOCHEMISTRY, IMMUNOHISTOCHEMISTRY, AND RETROGRADE LABELING [J].
BLOTTNER, D ;
BAUMGARTEN, HG .
JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE NEUROLOGY, 1992, 316 (01) :45-55
[7]   HISTOCHEMICAL AND IMMUNOCYTOCHEMICAL LOCALIZATION OF NITRIC-OXIDE SYNTHASE IN THE CENTRAL-NERVOUS-SYSTEM OF THE GOLDFISH, CARASSIUS-AURATUS [J].
BRUNING, G ;
KATZBACH, R ;
MAYER, B .
JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE NEUROLOGY, 1995, 358 (03) :353-382
[8]  
Bruning G., 1994, SOC NEUR ABSTR, V20, P1419
[9]  
BUISSON A, 1993, J NEUROCHEM, V61, P690
[10]  
Coggeshall RE, 1996, J COMP NEUROL, V364, P6, DOI 10.1002/(SICI)1096-9861(19960101)364:1<6::AID-CNE2>3.0.CO