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M Goedert

Publications and source records attributed to M Goedert.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

Biochemical and anatomical effects of antibodies against nerve growth factor on developing rat sensory ganglia.

The importance of nerve growth factor (NGF) for the development of sensory ganglia was investigated by injecting rat fetuses (16.50 days of gestation) with a single dose of anti-NGF antiserum. Four months later the treated animals showed a very large decrease in substance P- and somatostatin-like immunoreactivities in dorsal root ganglia and skin with a lesser decrease in trigeminal ganglia. Fluoride-resistant acid phosphatase, substance P-, and somatostatin-like immunoreactivities were greatly decreased in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord. No change in neurotensin- and [Met]enkephalin-like immunoreactivities was observed. The anti-NGF antiserum treatment produced a greater than 90% decrease in the number of unmyelinated dorsal root fibers and a 35% decrease in the total number of myelinated fibers. The loss in myelinated fibers was restricted to small-diameter fibers with no change in large-diameter fibers. No change in taste bud morphology was noted, thereby refuting the proposal that anti-NGF antiserum treatment may represent an animal model for familial dysautonomia. The present results indicate that NGF is a necessary requirement for the normal development of a significant population of prenatal rat dorsal root ganglion cells.

Aging

Localization and actions of cholecystokinin in the rat pituitary neurointermediate lobe.

Rat pituitary neural lobe contained high concentrations of cholecystokinin-like immunoreactivity (CCK-LI). Section of the pituitary stalk resulted in loss of CCK-LI, and both lactation and replacement of drinking water with 2% saline resulted in marked depletion of CCK-LI. Rats with congenital diabetes insipidus (Brattleboro strain) had a 73% reduction in CCK-LI below the levels of hooded Long-Evans controls, where as levels in the brain were unchanged. Release of CCK-LI, labeled dopamine, and gamma-amino butyric acid in response to potassium depolarization was studied. There was a low fractional release of CCK-LI. Addition of sulfated CCK-8 (CCK-8s) to the medium enhanced the calcium-dependent potassium-stimulated release of dopamine, but basal release was unaffected. gamma-Amino butyric acid release was only poorly calcium dependent and not effected by extracellular CCK-8s. Vasopressin and oxytocin release were stimulated by electrical stimulation of the pituitary stalk, and were unaffected by the addition of CCK-8s to the medium. In vivo, however, the injection of 5 micrograms CCK-8s into the third ventricle resulted in increased plasma vasopressin concentrations.

Animals

Mosaic distribution of neurotensin-like immunoreactivity in the cat striatum.

Neurotensin-like immunoreactivity was found in nerve fibers and terminals throughout the corpus striatum of the adult cat. The densest staining was observed in the globus pallidus followed by the caudate nucleus and the putamen. In the caudate nucleus neurotensin-like immunoreactivity had a patchy distribution which was in register with a similar pattern of enkephalin-like immunoreactivity.

Animals

The regional distribution of neurotensin-like immunoreactivity in central and peripheral tissues of the cat.

The regional distribution of neurotensin-like immunoreactivity (NTLI) was studied by radioimmunoassay in central and peripheral tissues of the cat. In the brain, NTLI showed a wide distribution with highest concentrations in the hypothalamus, the caudate/putamen and the nucleus accumbens. Only low levels of NTLI were measured in the spinal cord and there was no difference between dorsal and ventral horn. In the periphery, NTLI was present in high concentrations in the adrenal medulla and in lower amounts in the superior cervical and the ciliary ganglion. NTLI was present in both lobes of the pituitary gland and throughout the gastrointestinal tract with high concentrations in the ileum. All other peripheral tissues tested contained low but detectable amounts of NTLI. Gel chromatography on Sephadex G-25 was used in order to characterize the immunoreactive material; NTLI in tissue extracts from 3 central and 3 peripheral tissues co-eluted in a single peak at the position of synthetic neurotensin. NTLI is widely distributed throughout cat tissues and there are important differences from the distribution pattern in the rat, the only other species examined in detail to date.

Animals

Dose-dependent effects of capsaicin on primary sensory neurons in the neonatal rat.

The numbers of myelinated and unmyelinated fibers were counted in dorsal roots of adult rats treated neonatally with capsaicin in doses ranging from 5 to 100 mg/kg. Substance P and somatostatin levels in the spinal cord, dorsal roots, and sensory ganglia also were determined in control and treated animals. Capsaicin administration lead to the loss of both small myelinated and unmyelinated fibers from dorsal roots. However, whereas a near total loss, up to 94%, of unmyelinated fibers was achieved after high doses of capsaicin, the reduction of myelinated fibers, even of the smallest caliber, did not exceed 40%. The degree of fiber loss showed a clear dose dependency, with little detectable damage to myelinated fibers at doses of less than 50 mg/kg and with an ED50 for damage to unmyelinated fibers of 5 to 10 mg/kg. In all of the structures examined, particularly the dorsal roots, a roughly parallel decrease of substance P and somatostatin was found with capsaicin dose. The depletions of spinal cord substance P (55%) and somatostatin (20%) produced by neonatal capsaicin treatment were similar to those produced by dorsal rhizotomy. Capsaicin does not appear to be specific for primary afferents containing either substance P or somatostatin.

Animals

The origin of substance P in the rat submandibular gland and its major duct.

The origin of the substance P-like immunoreactivity in the rat submandibular gland and its major duct was investigated. Lesions severing the sympathetic, pre- and postganglionic parasympathetic and sensory innervation of the submandibular gland, or treatment with the neurotoxin capsaicin produced only a small non-significant decrease in the substance P-like immunoreactivity content of the gland. In contrast both sensory denervation and capsaicin treatment produced a substantial decrease in the content of substance P-like immunoreactivity in the major duct of the submandibular gland. These observations indicate that the duct innervation is clearly of sensory origin, whilst the substance P-like immunoreactivity of the gland itself appears to be intrinsic.

Animals

Effects of antibodies against nerve growth factor on the postnatal development of substance P-containing sensory neurons.

Administration of anti-nerve growth factor (NGF)-antibodies to newborn rats produces a marked but reversible reduction of the substance P content in dorsal root ganglia. This is in contrast to the effect of anti-NGF-antibodies on sympathetic ganglia, where they cause a destruction of the adrenergic neurons as is evident in the irreversible reduction of tyrosine hydroxylase activity.

Animals

The nature of the substance P-containing nerve fibres in taste papillae of the rat tongue.

The nature of the association of substance P (SP) with taste buds in the rat tongue was investigated by immunohistochemical and radioimmunoassay techniques. Both the circumvallate and fungiform papillae were found to receive a rich innervation by substance P-containing fibres. Although these fibres were closely associated with the taste buds in these structures, they assumed a perigemmal rather than an intragemmal location. Bilateral lesions of the glossopharyngeal nerve resulted in the depletion of taste buds from the vallate papilla and a large reduction in substance P immunoreactive fibres in this area. Lesions of the chorda tympani, which led to the degeneration of taste buds in fungiform papillae, had no effect on the immunohistochemical appearance of substance P in these papilla or on the substance P levels in the anterior part of the tongue. Lesions of the mandibular division of the trigeminal nerve or neonatal capsaicin treatment had no effect on the structural integrity of taste buds in fungiform papillae but led to the depletion of substance P-immunoreactive fibres from these papillae. Both of these procedures caused a 71% reduction in the substance P content of the anterior tongue, ipsilaterally after the nerve lesion and bilaterally after capsaicin treatment. The results are discussed in relation to the possible functional role of substance P-containing fibres within nerves supplying taste structures of the tongue.

Animals

The regional distribution and chromatographic characterisation of neurotensin-like immunoreactivity in the rat central nervous system.

Carboxy- and amino-terminal specific neurotensin antisera have been characterized and used to determine the nature of neurotensin-like immunoreactivity in the rat central nervous system. Using these antisera, together with the separation of neurotensin-like immunoreactivity on reverse-phase HPLC columns, it is clear that the majority of rat central nervous system neurotensin-like immunoreactivity is indistinguishable from the synthetic tridecapeptide, However, smaller amounts of carboxy- and amino-terminal neurotensin-like immunoreactivity were detected, which may correspond to carboxy- and amino-terminal fragments of neurotensin. In addition, using the amino-terminal directed neurotensin antiserum, a detailed distribution of neurotensin-like immunoreactivity in the rat central nervous system is described. Highest amounts were found in the hypothalamus, central amygdaloid nucleus, bed nucleus of the stria terminalis and the substantia gelatinosa of the spinal cord and of the trigeminal region.

Animals

Stimulation of the pituitary-adrenocortical axis and induction of tyrosine hydroxylase by nerve growth factor are not dependent on mouse submaxillary gland isorenin.

A biologically active 2.5S NGF preparation free of renin-activity was prepared. Stimulation of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenocortical axis as well as induction of tyrosine hydroxylase in sympathetic ganglia are characteristic NGF effects and are not mediated by renin. These findings are confirmed by observations showing that captopril, an angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor, failed to block these responses.

Adrenocorticotropic Hormone

Biological importance of the retrograde axonal transport of nerve growth factor in sensory neurons.

Nerve growth factor is retrogradely transported in sympathetic and sensory neurons throughout life. Although this transport is known to be biologically significant in sympathetic neurons, such a function was not yet known in sensory ganglia. By using the neuropeptide substance P as a biochemical marker, we show that sensory ganglia from newborn and adult rats respond in nerve growth factor and that its retrograde axonal transport is biologically relevant, as indicated by an increase in substance P and in general protein content.

Animals

Immunosympathectomy: lack of evidence for a complement-mediated cytotoxic mechanism.

To determine whether the destruction of peripheral sympathetic neurons by anti-NGF-antibodies results from a complement-mediated cytotoxic action or from the deprivation of endogenous NGF or immunologically NGF-like cross-reacting molecules we investigated the time-course of the reversibility of the effect of NGF-antibodies by neutralizing doses of NGF, together with the effect of NGF-antibodies in complement-deficient mice. After administration of a single dose of 50 mg/kg of purified antibodies to newborn rats the TH level was reduced to 75% of controls after 12 h, to 48% after 24 h, 39% after 36, and 28% after 48 h. After this time no further reduction occurred and levels remained constant up to 14 days. The effect of the NGF-antibodies was reversible on addition of NGF up to 48 h after antibody administration. Although the reversibility was not complete (85% of controls) the extent of the reversibility was the same whether NGF was given 12 or 48 h after the antibodies. The incompleteness of the reversibility is reflected by the small number of degenerating neurons apparent as early as 12 h after antibody administration. Since these early degenerative effects were also seen in complement-deficient mice it is concluded that they involve a small population of neurons, sensitive to short-term NGF deprivation whereas the majority of the neurons can withstand deprivation for up to 48 h without sustaining irreversible damage.

Adrenergic Fibers

Requirement of nerve growth factor for development of substance P-containing sensory neurones.

The protein nerve growth factor (NGF) is known to be essential for the maturation and maintenance of adrenergic neurones and for the development of sensory neurones during critical stages of embryonic life. The investigation of the physiological importance of NGF for the development of sensory neurones has been hampered so far by the lack of biochemical marker substances for these neurones. The demonstration that the undecapeptide substance P(SP) is present in sensory neurones suggests that it might be such a marker. SP is synthesized in dorsal root ganglia (DRG) and transported to the terminals of C-fibres located in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord and in the skin. Its release can be demonstrated from the central and peripheral endings of sensory nerve fibres which seem to have an important role in pain perception. We have investigated the effects of NGF and of purified anti-NGF antibodies on the content of SP in rat DRG and in their respective target organs, namely the spinal cord and the skin. The effects on sympathetic ganglia were included in order to control the effectiveness of both NGF and its antibody. We report here that NGF leads to an increase in SP in spinal ganglia, as previously shown by Kessler and Black. However, in contrast to these authors, we describe that the administration of anti-NGF antibodies produces a marked reduction of the SP content in sensory neurones and in their respective nerve terminals.

Animals

Immunization of adult rats against 2.5 S NGF: effects on the peripheral sympathetic nervous system.

The biochemical and morphological changes effected by immunization of adult rats with 2.5 S mouse nerve growth factor (NGF) were studied in sympathetic ganglia and in representative target organs. This immunization procedure maintains high levels of circulating anti NGF-antibody for periods of months. Morphological analysis revealed a general reduction in the size of the adrenergic neurons in the superior cervical ganglion (SCG) which was also reflected at the biochemical level by a 30% decrease in total protein content and a 50--60% reduction in the total activities of all norepinephrine-synthesizing enzymes. However, there was no change in total choline acetyltransferase activity. The biochemical and morphological changes observed in the SCG seem to be confined to the neuronal cell body, since at any stage of immunization target organs (the submandibular and the pineal gland) remained unaffected. All sympathetic ganglia investigated--except the superior mesenteric ganglion--responded in a similar way to the immunization against 2.5 S NGF. These changes in the adrenergic cell bodies were largely reversible. The recovery of normal enzyme activities followed closely the decrease of the antibody titer after cessation of immunization boosting. This indicates that cell death is not caused by anti NGF-antibodies in ganglia of adult animals. Thus, in contrast to adrenergic neurons from newborn animals, which depend on NGF or a crossreacting NGF-like material for survival, differentiated adrenergic neurons need this factor for the maintenance of their normal function but not for survival.

Animals