Distribution and origin of corticotropin-releasing factor-immunoreactive axons in the female rat lumbosacral spinal cord.

Distribution and origin of corticotropin-releasing factor-immunoreactive axons in the female rat lumbosacral spinal cord.

Puder B A; Papka R E

Journal of neuroscience research

2001

2001-12

Corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) is a neuropeptide traditionally known for its hormonal role in the hypothalamic/pituitary/adrenal stress axis. However, CRF has been reported in axons in sites that may be considered outside of the direct stress axis, e.g., in axons in the lumbosacral spinal cord associated with the micturition response. Whether any of these CRF-immunoreactive axons interacts with uterine-related preganglionic autonomic neurons or projection neurons in the lumbosacral spinal cord is unknown. Thus, immunohistochemistry and retrograde tracing were employed to determine the presence, distribution, and origin of

Animals; Axons/*metabolism/ultrastructure; Brain/cytology/*metabolism; Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone/*metabolism; Efferent Pathways/cytology/*metabolism; Female; Fluorescent Dyes; Herpesvirus 1; Immunohistochemistry; Lumbar Vertebrae; NADPH Dehydrogenase/metabolism; Nitrergic Neurons/cytology/metabolism; Parasympathetic Nervous System/cytology/*metabolism; Paraventricular Hypothalamic Nucleus/cytology/metabolism; Pons/cytology/metabolism; Pregnancy; Presynaptic Terminals/metabolism/ultrastructure; Rats; Reproduction/physiology; Sacrum; Spinal Cord/cytology/*metabolism; Sprague-Dawley; Suid; Uterus/*innervation

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