IDENTIFICATION OF SYMPATHETIC PREGANGLIONIC NEURONS CONTROLLING THE SMALL-INTESTINE IN HAMSTERS USING A RECOMBINANT HERPES-SIMPLEX VIRUS TYPE-1

Sympathetic preganglionic neurons (SPNs) may be organized topographica lly within the spinal cord for selective control of visceral organs. W e used a recombinant herpes simplex virus type-1 (rHSV-1) to identify SPNs innervating the small intestine in hamsters. These SPNs were dist ributed bilaterally in the cord from the fifth thoracic spinal segment to the second lumbar segment, but predominantly in thoracic segments 5-10. They had morphology similar to that of renal and adrenal SPNs in fected with HSV-1. The majority of intestinal SPNs were found in the i ntermediolateral cell column, with a few located in the lateral funicu lus. The SPNs labelled following duodenal injection of rHSV-1 were in the same spinal segments as the SPNs labelled following jejunal or ile al injections, suggesting lack of a relation between target topography and the topographic organization of these neurons. In addition, intes tinal SPNs were located in the same spinal segments, and autonomic nuc lei as renal and adrenal SPNs suggesting that SPNs controlling the abd ominal viscera are not organized viscerotopically for discrete control of different organs. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.