Summary
The immunohistochemical localization of neuropeptide Y (NPY) was correlated with those of dopamine-β-hydroxylase (DBH) and vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) by mapping serial 7 μm paraffin sections at three levels of the guina pig lower brainstem: a) area postrema, b) dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus, and c) nucleus prepositus of the hypoglossal nerve. Based on differences in transmitter expression, three populations of NPY-immunoreactive (IR) neurons were distinguished: NPY-IR catecholaminergic cells (NPY/CA), NPY-IR VIP-ergic cells (NPY/VIP), and NPY-IR cells which were not reactive to either DBH or VIP. Within these populations, size differences among neurons in characteristic locations allowed differentiation among the following subpopulations: NPY/CA neurons in the lateral reticular nucleus — magnocellular part (mean neuronal size 538 μm2) and parvocellular part (318 μm2)-, in the vagus-solitarius complex (433 μm2), and in the dorsal strip (348 μm2); NPY/VIP neurons in the vagus-solitarius complex (368 μm2) and in the nucleus ovalis (236 μm2). Apart from scattered NPY-IR cell bodies in the regions listed above, NPY-IR cell bodies in the lateral portion of the nucleus solitarius and in the caudal part of the spinal nucleus of the trigeminal nerve did not exhibit IR to either DBH or VIP. NPY-IR neurons in the area postrema occurred too infrequently for co-localization studies. The differential distribution of heterogeneous NPY-IR cell subpopulations may reflect the involvement of NPY in a variety of neuronal functions.
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Supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, grant He 919/6-1
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Dai, X.L., Triepel, J. & Heym, C. Immunohistochemical localization of neuropeptide Y in the guinea pig medulla oblongata. Histochemistry 85, 327–334 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00493485
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00493485