Effects of electro-acupuncture on the expression of c-jun and c-fos in spared dorsal root ganglion and associated spinal laminae following removal of adjacent dorsal root ganglia in cats

doi:10.1016/j.neuroscience.2006.03.008

Neuroscience

Volume 140, Issue 4, 2006, Pages 1169-1176

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroscience.2006.03.008 Get rights and content

Abstract

This study evaluated the plastic changes of c-jun and c-fos in the right sixth lumbar dorsal root ganglion (L₆ DRG), Rexed’s lamina II in representative spinal segments L₃, L₅, and L₆ and in the nucleus dorsalis (ND) at L₃ segments after electro-acupuncture (EA) in cats subjected to removal of L₁–L₅ and L₇–S₂ DRG. Following dorsal root ganglionectomy, there was a significant increase in the density of c-jun immunoreactivity in the neurons and glia in spinal lamina II and in the ND; there was also marked elevation in the expression of c-fos in ND. In both cases there was no change in the c-jun and c-fos immunoreactivity in the DRG. After EA in the operated animals, there was an up-regulation in the expression of c-jun in the L₆ DRG and the associated spinal lamina II; however, increased c-fos expression was detected only in the L₆ DRG. Western blot and RT-PCR were also performed to quantitatively explore the mRNA and protein expression changes in the spinal dorsal horn and associated DRG. Following partial deafferentation, there was a significant increase in the protein level of both c-jun and c-fos in the dorsal horn, while, in both cases there was no change in c-jun and c-fos protein and mRNA in the DRG. After EA in the operated animals, both c-jun protein and its mRNA in the L₆ DRG as well as the associated dorsal horn of L6 spinal segment were upregulated, but increased c-fos protein and its mRNA was observed only in the L₆ DRG. These findings suggested that c-jun and c-fos might be related to the acupuncture promoted spinal cord plasticity as reported previously.

Section snippets

Animal preparation

All cats used in this study were approved by Animal Welfare Committee of Kunming Medical College. Every effort was taken to reduce the number of animals and suffering during the experiments, and all experiments conformed to international guidelines on the ethical use of animals. Seventy-five male adult cats (weighing 3–3.5 kg at the start of the experiments) were used. They were divided into five groups (n=15 in each group), and every five cats were used for immunohistochemistry, Western blot

c-jun and c-fos immunoreactive changes

C-jun and c-fos immunoreactive products appeared as brown deposits in both the nucleus and cytoplasm of a stained DRG neuron, as shown in Fig. 2 (for interpretation of the references to color in this figure, the reader is referred to the Web version of this article). Nuclear stain was darker than cytoplasm and the immunoreactivities were present in neurons of all sizes, ranging from 13 μm to 100 μm. Following the scheme of previous reports (Kawamura 1978, Wang et al 2000, Xu et al 1992),

Discussion

The presence of c-jun and c-fos proteins in neurons and glial cells of normal cats indicates that they have ongoing physiological functions in the DRG and spinal cord. They may prepare the organism for a quick reaction to internal or external stimuli, as the organism could use the existent proteins to start up other protein synthesis, without an initial de novo protein synthesis.

Conclusion

In conclusion, this study provided evidence that c-jun and c-fos were upregulated in the spared DRG and in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord induced by surgical removal of multiple DRG and also by acupuncture. These data suggest that acupuncture at points lying in L₆ dermatome may be involved in the plastic changes in the spared L₆ DRG and lamina II of L₆ segment only.

Acknowledgments

We thank Dr. Seng Kee Leong for his valuable comments on this manuscript.

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The pelvic ganglia provide autonomic innervation to pelvic viscera and urogenital organs. These neurons are susceptible to axonal injury during pelvic surgical procedures, yet their regenerative mechanisms are poorly understood. The AP-1 transcription factor component, c-Jun, has been strongly linked to regenerative events in injured sensory, sympathetic and somatic motor neurons and is considered to be required for regeneration. Our aims were: (1) to identify whether c-Jun was upregulated by injury in pelvic parasympathetic neurons, and (2) whether injury was required for c-Jun upregulation, by performing deafferentation (i.e., severance of lumbar and sacral spinal inputs), which elicits sprouting of axon collaterals from pelvic ganglion neurons but does not injure them. A week after penile nerve axotomy in rats and mice, upregulation of c-Jun occurred in numerous glia within pelvic ganglia and almost half of the retrogradely-labelled penis-projecting neurons but also occurred in many uninjured noradrenergic neurons. We also identified upregulation of c-Jun in many pelvic ganglion neurons and glia a week after deafferentation, suggesting that c-Jun expression is activated in sprouting but uninjured neurons. A c-Jun response was retained in injured or deafferented parasympathetic neurons in neurturin knockout mice. In summary, neurturin-independent c-Jun expression within pelvic ganglion neurons does not require a direct injury and may instead be causally linked to axonal sprouting, regardless of stimulus. This study revealed mechanisms involved in structural remodelling of pelvic autonomic nerve circuits that may be modulated to improve regenerative processes.
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This article has been retracted: please see Elsevier Policy on Article Withdrawal(http://www.elsevier.com/locate/withdrawalpolicy).
This article has been retracted at the request of the Authors.
The article is a substantial duplication/re-working of results published by the some of the Authors in Sichuan Da Zue Xue Bao Yi Xue Ban, 36(2005) 625–629 and without citation to the original work. The authors would like to apologize for this error on their part.
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Cellular neuroscienceEffects of electro-acupuncture on the expression of c-jun and c-fos in spared dorsal root ganglion and associated spinal laminae following removal of adjacent dorsal root ganglia in cats

Abstract

Section snippets

Animal preparation

c-jun and c-fos immunoreactive changes

Discussion

Conclusion

Acknowledgments

Exp Neurol

Exp Neurol

Brain Res

Brain Res

Brain Res Mol Brain Res

Neuroscience

Mol Brain Res

Exp Neurol

Neurosci Lett

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Brain Res

Exp Neurol

Brain Res

Brain Res

Brain Res

Brain Res Dev Brain Res

Exp Neurol

Exp Neurol

The effects of acupuncture on NGF and NGF mRNA in spinal cord and dorsal root ganglion of partial rhizotomy cats

Chinese J Neuroanat

Expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor in deafferent spinal cord dorsal horn of cat

Chinese J Neuroanat

Expression and localization of immediate early genes and preproenkephalin gene in central nervous system following electroacupuncture stimulation

Sheng Li Ke Xue Jin Zhan

The differential control of c-jun expression in regenerating sensory neurons and their associated glial cell

J Neurosci

The role immediate early genes in the regeneration of the central nervous system

Adv Neurol

Cellular neuroscience
Effects of electro-acupuncture on the expression of c-jun and c-fos in spared dorsal root ganglion and associated spinal laminae following removal of adjacent dorsal root ganglia in cats