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Immunocytochemical localization of amino acid neurotransmitter candidates in the ventral horn of the cat spinal cord: a light microscopic study

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Abstract

The distribution of immunoreactivities to six amino acids, possibly related to synaptic function, was investigated in the motor nucleus of the cat L7 spinal cord (laminae VII and IX) using a postembedding peroxidase-antiperoxidase technique. Consecutive 0.5 μm transverse sections of plastic-embedded tissue were incubated with antisera raised against protein-glutaraldehyde conjugates of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), glycine, aspartate, glutamate, homocysteate, and taurine. This method allowed localization of the different immunoreactivities in individual cell profiles. The results showed that all these amino acids, except homocysteate, could be clearly detected in either neuronal or glial elements in the ventral horn. In cell bodies of neurons in lamina VII, immunoreactivity was observed for aspartate, glutamate, GABA, and glycine. Adjacent section analysis revealed that combinations of immunoreactivity for glycine/glutamate/aspartate, GABA/glycine/glutamate/aspartate and glutamate/aspartate, respectively, may occur in one and the same cell. In the motor nuclei (lamina IX), immunoreactivity to amino acids was observed in two types of neuron. Large cells, probably representing α-motoneurons, were harboring immunoreactivity to both glutamate and aspartate, while a few small neurons in this area displayed a colocalization of glycine, glutamate, and aspartate. Dendrites and axons in the motor nuclei cocontained glycine/glutamate/aspartate, GABA/glycine/glutamate/aspartate, and glutamate/aspartate immunoreactivities. In both laminae VII and IX, taurine-like immunoreactivity was absent in neuronal cell bodies, but highly concentrated in perivascular cells and small cells with a morphology resembling that of glial cells. A punctate immunolabeling, in all probability representing labeling of nerve terminals, could be demonstrated in the ventral horn for GABA, glycine, and glutamate, but not with certainty for aspartate or taurine. A quantitative estimate of the covering of cell bodies of α-motoneuron size by immunoreactive puncta revealed that glycine immunoreactive terminal-like structures were most abundant (covering 26–42% of the somatic membrane), while glutamate immunoreactive terminals were seen least frequently (5–9% covering). GABA-immunoreactive terminals covered from 10 to 24% of the soma surface. A colocalization of GABA and glycine immunoreactivities in putative nerve terminals could be shown both in the neuropil and in close relation to cell bodies of motoneurons. These results suggest that among the studied amino acids probably only three, namely GABA, glycine, and glutamate, can be considered to be neurotransmitter candidates in the ventral horn of the cat spinal cord.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anatomy, Karolinska Institute, S-17177, Stockholm, Sweden

    O. Shupliakov, G. Örnung, B. Ulfhake & S. Cullheim

  2. Nobel Institute for Neurophysiology, Karolinska Institute, S-17177, Stockholm, Sweden

    O. Shupliakov & L. Brodin

  3. Department of Anatomy, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway

    O. P. Ottersen & J. Storm-Mathisen

Authors
  1. O. Shupliakov
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  2. G. Örnung
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  3. L. Brodin
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  4. B. Ulfhake
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  5. O. P. Ottersen
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  6. J. Storm-Mathisen
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  7. S. Cullheim
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Shupliakov, O., Örnung, G., Brodin, L. et al. Immunocytochemical localization of amino acid neurotransmitter candidates in the ventral horn of the cat spinal cord: a light microscopic study. Exp Brain Res 96, 404–418 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00234109

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