Altered ion channels in an animal model of Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type IA.

How demyelination and remyelination affect the function of myelinated axons is a fundamental aspect of demyelinating diseases. We examined this issue in Trembler-J mice, a genetically authentic model of a dominantly inherited demyelinating neuropathy of humans. The K+ channels Kv1.1 and Kv1.2 channels were often improperly located in the paranodal axon membrane, typically associated with improperly formed paranodes, and in unmyelinated segments between internodes. As in wild-type nerves, Trembler-J nodes contained Nav1.6, ankyrin-G, betaIV-spectrin, and KCNQ2, but, unlike wild-type nerves, they also contained Kv3.1b and Nav1.8. In unmyelinated segments bordered by myelin sheaths, these proteins were clustered in heminodes and did not appear to be diffusely localized in the unmyelinated segments themselves. Nodes and heminodes were contacted by Schwann cells processes that did not have the ultrastructural or molecular characteristics of mature microvilli. Despite the presence of Nav1.8, a tetrodotoxin-resistant sodium channel, sciatic nerve conduction was at least as sensitive to tetrodotoxin in Trembler-J nerves as in wild-type nerves. Thus, the profound reorganization of axonal ion channels and the aberrant expression of novel ion channels likely contribute to the altered conduction in Trembler-J nerves.

Origin and course of nerves immunoreactive for calcitonin gene-related peptide surrounding the femoral artery in rat.

Appreciation of anatomic relationships between perivascular nerve fibers and blood vessels is essential in reconstructive surgery. We examined the origin and neural connections of perivascular nerve fibers containing calcitonin gene-related peptide surrounding the femoral artery that regulate vascular tone. We used immunohistochemistry, denervation, and retrograde labeling methods. Peptide-immunoreactive fibers surrounding the femoral artery formed a complex network, with numerous small fibers extending from nerve fiber bundles located in the perivascular connective tissue. In middle and distal arterial segments, these fibers originated from the femoral nerve, the artery's main accompanying nerve. More proximally, fibers arose from the genitofemoral nerve and sympathetic nerves. Nerve branches terminating in various arterial segments had origins corresponding to those of somatic sensory nerve fibers, although pathways innervating the femoral artery took different courses.

Peptide-containing innervation of rat femoral lymphatic vessels.

The lymphatic vessels conduct lymph fluid, proteins, and potentially antigenic material from the interstitium back to the bloodstream via lymph nodes, where solids are removed by phagocytic cells and recirculating lymphocytes and immunoglobulins are added. Immunostaining for two general neuronal markers, protein gene product 9.5 (PGP 9.5), a cytoplasmic ubiquitin C-terminal hydrolase, and synaptophysin, a calcium-binding four-span integral synaptic vesicle membrane glycoprotein, disclosed an abundant innervation of the large femoral lymphatic vessels in rats. This confirms and extends earlier findings based on nonspecific intravital methylene blue and silver impregnation staining methods. Nerves containing neuropeptide Y, C-flanking peptide of neuropeptide Y, and tyrosine hydroxylase, markers of noradrenergic postganglionic sympathetic fibers, were frequent whereas immunoreactivity to vasoactive intestinal peptide, a neuropeptide present in many cholinergic parasympathetic nerve fibers, was sparse suggesting possible sympathetic and parasympathetic influences. Furthermore, calcitonin gene-related peptide- and substance P-containing fibers were also present in the walls of lymphatic vessels suggesting a possible sensory influence in the coordinated myogenic responses. By comparison to normal light microscopy, confocal microscopy was found useful to trace the perihilar penetration of blood and afferent lymphatic vessels in lymph nodes. PGP 9.5-immunoreactive fibers were found in and around lymph nodes suggesting that there is a neural regulation of lymphoid node function. Because of their distribution, peptide-containing nerves may participate in regulating the capacity of the lymphatic pumping activity, and may possibly exert paracrine effects on lymphocytes.