FOS expression in the lumbosacral spinal cord following intra-urethral noxious stimuli in rat
- VernacularTitle:尿道伤害性刺激诱导的FOS阳性神经元在大鼠腰骶髓内的分布
- Author:
Juan SHI
1
;
Yuqiang DING
;
Junqing XU
;
Xiying JIAO
;
Guangchen ZHAO
Author Information
1. 第四军医大学
- Keywords:
urethra;
FOS;
pudendal nerve;
pelvic nerve;
primary afferent;
rat
- From:
Neuroscience Bulletin
2000;16(2):85-89
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
FOS protein in the lumbosacral spinal cord of the rat was detected to study neuronal activation induced by noxious stimulation of the urethra. In rats receiving infusion of 100 μl of 2% formalin into the urethra, a large number of FOS-positive neurons were seen in the lumbosacral cord segments (L6 and S1), and they were primarily distributed in the medial dorsal horn and dorsal commissural nucleus. Nearly all of FOS expression was blocked by bilateral transection of the pudendal nerve, whereas bilateral transection of the pelvic nerve seemed to have no obvious effect on FOS expression.Behavioral changes were also observed in the nerve-transected rats. Bilateral pelvic nerve-transected rats showed frequently licking of the external urethral orifice after application of the irritant to the urethra, which was quite similar to that of the nerve-intact rats. Such behavior completely disappeared in the rats receiving bilateral pudendal nerve transection. The results suggest that the medial dorsal horn and dorsal commissural nucleus in the L6 and S1 segments are involved in processing nociceptive inputs from the urethra, which is carried by the pudendal nerve.
