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Axonal Transport of Neuropeptides in the Cervical Vagus Nerve of the Rat
Author(s) -
Gilbert R. F. T.,
Emson P. C.,
Fahrenkrug J.,
Lee C. M.,
Penmant E.,
Wass J.
Publication year - 1980
Publication title -
journal of neurochemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.75
H-Index - 229
eISSN - 1471-4159
pISSN - 0022-3042
DOI - 10.1111/j.1471-4159.1980.tb04627.x
Subject(s) - vagus nerve , axoplasmic transport , vasoactive intestinal peptide , neuropeptide , substance p , colchicine , chemistry , glossopharyngeal nerve , free nerve ending , medicine , endocrinology , biology , anatomy , receptor , stimulation
Accumulations of the neuropeptides substance P (SP), somatostatin (ST) and vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) proximal to a crush in the cervical vagus nerve of the rat have been measured using sensitive radioim‐munoassays. Each of the peptides was rapidly transported towards the peripheral terminals of vagal afferent fibres, with average rates of flow ranging from 0.8 to 2.7 mm h −1 . In the rabbit vagus nerve, SP was transported with an average rate of 4 mm h −1 , which is more than double the rate for this peptide in the rat. Double crush experiments in rabbit vagus nerves indicated that the rapidly transported proportion of the total content of SP in the nerve free was about 34%. From this, the rate of transport of SP in the rapidly transported pool in the rabbit vagus nerve can be calculated to be 12 mm h −1 (280 mm day −1 ). Since such double crush experiments were not possible in the rat, it is not clear whether the different average rates of transport of SP in the rat and the rabbit reflect real differences in the rate of rapid transport in the two species. In common with rapid axonal transport of other neurotransmitters, the transport of SP and ST in the rat vagus nerve was blocked by colchicine, a drug that disrupts microtubules.