IDENTIFICATION OF CNS NEURONS INNERVATING THE RAT PROSTATE - A TRANSNEURONAL TRACING STUDY USING PSEUDORABIES VIRUS

The spinal and brain neurons that innervate the rat prostate were iden tified using the transneuronal tracing technique. Three groups of rats were prepared: (1) nerve intact, (2) bilateral pelvic nerve cut and r ight hypogastric nerve cut and (3) bilateral hypogastric nerve cut and right pelvic nerve cut. Pseudorabies virus (PRV) was injected into th e ventral prostate on the left side. After 2-4 days, the rats were per fused transcardially under deep anesthesia and the spinal cord and bra in removed. PRV-labelled cells were identified using immunohistochemis try. After 3 days survival, sympathetic and parasympathetic preganglio nic neurons were labelled with PRV. In addition, spinal interneurons w ere found in the dorsal gray commissure (DGC) of T13-S1. Rats with onl y one hypogastric nerve intact resulted in spinal labelling of sympath etic preganglionic neurons in the DGC and ipsilateral intermediolatera l cell column (IML). In addition, many spinal interneurons were found from L1 to L6 in the medial gray. Rats with only one pelvic nerve inta ct displayed PRV-labelled cells in the parasympathetic preganglionic n ucleus ipsilateral to the injection site. Spinal interneurons were pre sent in the region of the IML and in the medial cord. In the brain, ar eas predominately labelled with PRV included the nucleus gigantocellul aris and paragigantocellularis, raphe magnus, raphe pallidus, A5, Barr ington's nucleus, central say, ventral tegmental area, the paraventric ular nucleus of the hypothalamus, lateral hypothalamus and medial preo ptic area. These data demonstrate the sympathetic and parasympathetic spinal circuits and demonstrate the overlap of supraspinal innervation of the spinal interneurons. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.