PubMed · 440408
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M Robertson. 1979-04-26. Nerves, molecules and embryos.. https://doi.org/10.1038/278778a0
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Chromogranin A (CGA) has been localized to the large dense cored vesicles (LDV) of sympathetic neurons. SDS-PAGE and immunoblotting of soluble LDV proteins from ox and dog adrenergic neuronal cell bodies, axons and nerve terminals, revealed an increasing number of CGA-immunoreactive forms, consistent with proteolytic processing during axonal transport. Splenic nerve electrical stimulation (10 Hz, 2 min) revealed that, apart from CGA, these CGA-processing products are released from the sheep spleen. The secretion of CGA-derived fragments from sympathetic neurons might suggest a role in the regulation of synaptic transmission.
In-vitro studies have shown that atenolol, a beta-blocking agent, is stereoselectively taken up by and released from adrenergic nerve endings by membrane depolarisation. To investigate the potential importance of these findings, blood samples were taken at rest and after exercise testing from 10 patients (mean [SE] age 60 [3] years) receiving long-term treatment with racemic atenolol. At rest, mean plasma concentration of (R)-atenolol was higher than that of (S)-atenolol (ratio 1.14, p less than 0.01), but after exercise there was a stereoselective increase in (S)-atenolol concentration, which changed the ratio to 0.66 (p less than 0.01). Since (S)-atenolol but not (R)-atenolol causes clinically relevant beta-blockade, our findings may have importance for the management of patients receiving beta-blocking drugs.
The pre- and postnatal development of sympathetic fibers containing neuropeptide Y (NPY) and parasympathetic fibers containing vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) supplying the cerebral arteries were studied with immunohistochemistry in rats. The innervation patterns and densities of NPY and VIP fibers were similar at all stages of development and similar to that previously reported for norepinephrine (NE). There was a striking reorganization of the innervation pattern of all three fiber systems between the first and second postnatal weeks. At all stages of development prior to the first postnatal week, growth cones were present on individual fibers at the distal part of major cerebral arteries and the middle segment of the basilar artery. The growth cones had a range of shapes from blunt to stellate, lanceolate or filiform. NPY and VIP immunoreactive granules were commonly present. The present results taken with our earlier developmental study of NE fibers (J. Comp. Neurol., 271 (1988) 435-444), demonstrate that: (1) both sympathetic and parasympathetic perivascular nerves on immature cerebral vessels develop with similar sequences: first longitudinal fibers and fiber bundles are present; these transform to a meshwork pattern and finally transform again into the mature, predominantly circumferential pattern; (2) both the classical (NE) and peptidergic transmitters (NPY) within the sympathetic system appear to develop identically in terms of time of appearance, innervation patterns, densities and reorganization.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)