Nl. Scholz et al., THE NO CGMP PATHWAY AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF NEURAL NETWORKS IN POSTEMBRYONIC LOBSTERS/, Journal of neurobiology, 34(3), 1998, pp. 208-226
The nitric oxide/cyclic 3',5'-guanosine monophosphate (NO/cGMP) signal
ing pathway has been implicated in certain forms of developmental and
adult neuronal plasticity. Here we use wholemount immunocytochemistry
to identify components of this pathway in the nervous system of postem
bryonic lobsters as they develop through metamorphosis. We find that t
he synthetic enzyme for NO (nitric oxide synthase, or NOS) and the rec
eptor for this transmitter (NO-sensitive soluble guanylate cyclase) ar
e broadly distributed in the central nervous system (CNS) at hatching.
In the brain, NOS immunoreactivity is intensified during glomerular d
evelopment in the olfactory and accessory lobes. Whereas only a few ne
urons express NOS in the CNS, many more neurons synthesize cGMP in the
presence of NO. NO-sensitive guanylate cyclase activity is a stable f
eature of some cells, while in others it is regulated during developme
nt. In the stomatogastric nervous system, a subset of neurons become r
esponsive to NO at metamorphosis, a time when larval networks are reor
ganized into adult motor circuits. cGMP accumulation was occasionally
detected in the nucleus of many cells in the CNS, which suggests that
cGMP may have a role in transcription. Based on these findings, we con
clude that the NO/cGMP signaling pathway may participate in the develo
pment of the lobster nervous system. Furthermore, NO may serve as a mo
dulatory neurotransmitter for diverse neurons throughout the CNS. (C)
1998 John Wiley & Sons, inc.