Review Article

VGLUTs in Peripheral Neurons and the Spinal Cord: Time for a Review

Figure 5

VGLUTs protein and transcript expressions in the mouse spinal cord. Dark-field ((a) and (c), left side; (e)) and immunofluorescence ((a) and (c), right side; (f)) photomicrographs of sections of the thoracolumbar and lumbar enlargement ((c), (e), (f)) of the spinal cord, incubated with VGLUT1, VGLUT2, or VGLUT3 antisense riboprobes ((a), (c), (e), resp.) or VGLUT1 (a), VGLUT2 (c), or EGFP (f) antibodies. Schematic drawings of the thoracolumbar (b) and lumbar enlargement (d) of the spinal cord are provided as references for the laminae in the gray matter (taken from The Rat Brain in Stereotaxic Coordinates, Fourth Edition, George Paxinos and Charles Watson, 1998). (a) A discrete number of VGLUT1 mRNA-positive NPs are detected in the dorsomedial aspect of the intermediate dorsal horn at thoracolumbar segments (black double arrowheads) and in more isolated fashion, in laminae IV-V of the dorsal horn (white double arrowhead). An abundant VGLUT1-IR neuropil is also detected in the dorsal and ventral horns, being more intense in the deep dorsal horn and in area X and only weak in laminae I-II. (c) Abundant VGLUT2 mRNA-positive NPs are detected in the lumbar enlargement of the spinal cord, encompassing both the dorsal and ventral horns. The VGLUT2 mRNA signal in NPs in laminae II-III appears somewhat more diffuse than in deeper laminae. The areas occupied by laminae IX are, however, devoid of VGLUT2-expressing NPs (asterisk). VGLUT2-Li is abundant in the neuropil in the whole gray matter. ((e), (f)) Only few VGLUT3 mRNA-positive NPs are detected in laminae III-IV of the dorsal horn (white double arrowheads in (e)). A modest EGFP-IR neuropil is also observed in laminae II (f). Scale bars: 200 μm ((a), (c)) 50 μm ((f) = (e)). Figure (f) is reproduced in part, and with permission, from [66].
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