Summary
In order to validate the horseradish per-oxidase (HRP) technique as a quantitative method for assessing neuronal pools, we compared counts of labeled motoneurons to numbers of corresponding motor axons. Rat spinal motoneurons were labeled by immersing in HRP either the L4 radicular nerve or the normal or deafferented nerve to the tibialis anterior muscle (TA). The technique slightly undervalued the L4 motoneuronal population estimated by counting ventral root motor fibres, while in deafferented TA, counts of labeled neurons closely reflected numbers of motor axons. Measurements of neuron and nerve fibre diameters revealed good correlations of alpha and gamma motor estimates at spinal cord and nerve levels. Values were considered representative because of the approximation obtained in HRP-estimates between control and deafferented animals, indicating no significant damage from the surgical deafferentation.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Barker D, Hunt CC, McIntyre AK (1974) The composition of mammalian muscle nerves. In: Hunt CC (ed) Muscle receptors. Handbook of sensory physiology, vol III/2. Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York, pp 155–190
Baulac M, Meininger V (1979) Organisation intramédullaire de la corne antérieure en fonction des nerfs du plexus brachial chez le rat. Rev Neurol (Paris) 135: 789–802
Boyd IA, Davey MR (1966) The composition of peripheral nerves. In: Andrew BL (ed) Control and innervation of skeletal muscle. Churchill Livingstone, Edinburgh, pp 35–47
Broadwell RD, Brightman MW (1976) Entry of peroxidase into neurons of the central and peripheral nervous systems from extracerebral and cerebral blood. J Comp Neurol 166: 257–284
Brownson RH, Uusitalo R, Palkama A (1977) Intraaxonal transport of horseradish peroxidase in the sympathetic nervous system. Brain Res 120: 407–422
Bryan RN, Trevino DL, Willis WD (1972) Evidence for a common location of alpha and gamma motoneurons. Brain Res 38: 193–196
Burke RE, Strick PL, Kanda K, Kim CC, Walmsley B (1977) Anatomy of medial gastrocnemius and soleus motor nuclei in cat spinal cord. J Neurophysiol 40: 667–680
Chibuzo GA, Cummings JF (1981) The origins of the afferent fibers to the lingual muscles of the dog, a retrograde labeling study with horseradish peroxidase. Anat Rec 200: 95–101
Cragg BG (1970) What is the signal for chromatolysis? Brain Res 23: 1–21
Eccles JC, Sherrington CS (1930) Numbers and contraction values of individual motor units examined in some muscles of the limb. Proc R Soc Lond [Biol] 106: 326–357
Ellison JP, Clark GM (1975) Retrograde axonal transport of horseradish peroxidase in peripheral autonomic nerves. J Comp Neurol 161: 103–114
Gottschall J, Zenker W, Neuhuber W, Mysicka A, Müntener M (1980) The sternomastoid muscle of the rat and its innervation. Muscle fiber composition, perikarya and axons of efferent and afferent neurons. Anat Embryol (Berl) 160: 285–300
Harrison LM (1975) Fiber diameter spectrum of the motor fibers of rat sural nerve. Exp Neurol 47: 364–366
Hollyday M (1980) Organization of motor pools in the chick lumbar lateral motor column. J Comp Neurol 194: 143–170
Hongchien H, Kao T, Tan EC (1980) Muscle sensory neurons in the spinal ganglia in the rat determined by retrograde transport of horseradish peroxidase. Exp Neurol 70: 438–445
Kristensson K, Olsson Y, Sjöstrand J (1971) Axonal uptake and retrograde transport of exogenous proteins in the hypoglossal nerve. Brain Res 32: 399–406
Landmesser L (1978a) The distribution of motoneurones supplying chick hind limb muscles. J Physiol (Lond) 284: 371–389
Landmesser L (1978b) The development of motor projection patterns in the chick hind limb. J Physiol (Lond) 284: 391–414
Lavail JH, Lavail MM (1972) Retrograde axonal transport in the central nervous system. Science 176: 1416–1417
Lundberg JM, Dahlström A, Larsson I, Pettersson G, Ahlman H, Kewenter J (1978) Efferent innervation of the small intestine by adrenergic neurons from the cervical sympathetic and stellate ganglia, studied by retrograde transport of peroxidase. Acta Physiol Scand 104: 33–42
Matthews PB (1972) Muscle nerve fibres — their number and diameters. In: Arnold E (ed) Mammalian muscle receptors and their central actions. Physiological Society, London, pp 66–100
McHanwell S, Biscoe TJ (1981) The localization of motoneurons supplying the hindlimb muscles of the mouse. Philos Trans R Soc Lond [Biol] 293: 477–508
Mesulam M-M (1978) Tetramethyl benzidine for horseradish peroxidase neurohistochemistry: A non-carcinogenic blue reaction-product with superior sensitivity for visualizing neural afferents and efferents. J Histochem Cytochem 2: 106–117
Mesulam M-M, Rosene DL (1979) Sensitivity in horseradish peroxidase neurohistochemistry: A comparative and quantitative study of nine methods. J Histochem Cytochem 3: 763–773
Nakanishi T, Norris FH Jr (1970) Motor fibers in rat sural nerve. Exp Neurol 26: 433–435
Neuhuber W, Niederle B (1980) Differential labeling by horseradish peroxidase of small and large spinal neurons of rats. Neurosci Lett 20: 131–134
Peyronnard J-M, Charron L (1980) Muscle reorganization after partial denervation and reinnervation. Muscle Nerve 3: 509–518
Peyronnard J-M, Lamarre Y (1977) Electrophysiological and anatomical estimation of the number of motor units in the monkey extensor digitorum brevis muscle. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 8: 756–764
Richmond FJR, Scott DA, Abrahams VC (1978) Distribution of motoneurones to the neck muscles, biventer cervicis, splenius and complexus in the cat. J Comp Neurol 181: 451–464
Romanes GJ (1951) The motor cell columns of the lumbo-sacral spinal cord of the cat. J Comp Neurol 94: 313–364
Romanes GJ (1964) The motor pools of the spinal cord. In: Eccles JC, Schadé JP (eds) Organisation of the spinal cord. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp 93–119
Schadé JP, Van Harreveld A (1961) Volume distribution of moto- and interneurons in the peroneus-tibialis neuron pool of the cat. J Comp Neurol 117: 387–398
Sprague JM (1951) Motor and propriospinal cells in the thoracic and lumbar ventral horn of the rhesus monkey. J Comp Neurol 95: 105–123
Strick PL, Burke RE, Kanda K, Kim CC, Walmsley B (1976) Differences between alpha and gamma motoneurons labeled with horseradish peroxidase by retrograde transport. Brain Res 113: 582–588
Tada K, Ohshita S, Yonenobu K, Ono K, Satoh K, Shimizu N (1979) Development of spinal motoneuron innervation of the upper limb muscle in the rat. Exp Brain Res 35: 287–293
Takahashi K, Satomi H, Ise H, Yamamoto T (1980) A method of HRP bathing of transected peripheral nerves using a rubber bag. Its technique and advantage. Anat Anz 147: 251–254
Winer JA (1977) A review of the status of the horseradish peroxidase method in neuroanatomy. Biobehav Rev 1: 45–54
Wray SH (1969) Innervation ratios for large and small limb muscles in the baboon. J Comp Neurol 137: 227–250
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Supported in part by grants from the Medical Research Council of Canada (J.M.P.) and the C.O. Monat and Jeanne-Mance Foundations (L.C.)
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Peyronnard, J.M., Charron, L. Motoneuronal and motor axonal innervation in the rat hindlimb: A comparative study using horseradish peroxidase. Exp Brain Res 50, 125–132 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00238239
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00238239