Expression of the noradrenaline transporter in the peripheral nervous system

Publication date: Available online 28 December 2019Source: Journal of Chemical NeuroanatomyAuthor(s): Natalie Morellini, Jacqueline K. Phillips, Roshana Vander Wall, Peter D. DrummondAbstractThe noradrenaline transporter (NAT) transfers noradrenaline released into the synaptic cleft back into the presynaptic terminal, thus terminating neurotransmission. Although the distribution of NAT within the central nervous system has been well-characterized, less is known about its distribution elsewhere in the peripheral nervous system and in organs such as the skin. To address this in the present study, NAT expression was investigated using immunohistochemistry in the hind paw skin and more proximally in the sciatic nerve, dorsal root ganglia and spinal cord of five male Wistar rats. It was hypothesised that NAT would be expressed exclusively on nerve fibres labelled by dopamine beta hydroxylase (DβH), an enzyme involved in the conversion of dopamine to noradrenaline. NAT co-localised with DβH in neurons in the spinal cord, dorsal root ganglia and sciatic nerve. Unexpectedly, however, NAT was not observed in DβH immuno-reactive fibres that innervated dermal blood vessels, suggesting that a mechanism other than presynaptic re-uptake of noradrenaline through NAT regulates transmission at neurovascular junctions in the skin. Furthermore, a novel association between NAT and the myelin marker myelin basic protein (MBP) was identified in peripheral nerves. Specifically, NAT and MBP appea...
Source: Journal of Chemical Neuroanatomy - Category: Neuroscience Source Type: research