KMID : 1240020180220000023
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International Neurourology Journal 2018 Volume.22 No. 0 p.23 ~ p.33
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Expression of Glial Cell Line-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (GDNF) and the GDNF Family Receptor Alpha Subunit 1 in the Paravaginal Ganglia of Nulliparous and Primiparous Rabbits
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Garcia-Villamar Veronica
Hernandez-Aragon Laura G. Chavez-Rios Jesus R. Ortega Arturo Martinez-Gomez Margarita Castelan Francisco
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Abstract
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Purpose: To evaluate the expression of glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) and its receptor, GDNF family receptor alpha subunit 1 (GFR¥á-1) in the pelvic (middle third) vagina and, particularly, in the paravaginal ganglia of nulliparous and primiparous rabbits.
Methods: Chinchilla-breed female rabbits were used. Primiparas were killed on postpartum day 3 and nulliparas upon reaching a similar age. The vaginal tracts were processed for histological analyses or frozen for Western blot assays. We measured the ganglionic area, the Abercrombie-corrected number of paravaginal neurons, the cross-sectional area of the neuronal somata, and the number of satellite glial cells (SGCs) per neuron. The relative expression of both GDNF and GFR¥á-1 were assessed by Western blotting, and the immunostaining was semiquantitated. Unpaired two-tailed Student t -test or Wilcoxon test was used to identify statistically significant differences (P¡Â0.05) between the groups.
Results: Our findings demonstrated that the ganglionic area, neuronal soma size, Abercrombie-corrected number of neurons, and number of SGCs per neuron were similar in nulliparas and primiparas. The relative expression of both GDNF and GFR¥á-1 was similar. Immunostaining for both GDNF and GFR¥á-1 was observed in several vaginal layers, and no differences were detected regarding GDNF and GFR¥á-1 immunostaining between the 2 groups. In the paravaginal ganglia, the expression of GDNF was increased in neurons, while that of GFR¥á-1 was augmented in the SGCs of primiparous rabbits.
Conclusions: The present findings suggest an ongoing regenerative process related to the recovery of neuronal soma size in the paravaginal ganglia, in which GDNF and GFR¥á-1 could be involved in cross-talk between neurons and SGCs.
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KEYWORD
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Pelvic ganglia, Nerve growth factors, Neuronal plasticity, Reproduction, Lower urogenital tract
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