Jl. Morris et al., Different levels of immunoreactivity for synaptosomal-associated protein of 25 kDa in vasoconstrictor and vasodilator axons of guinea-pigs, NEUROSCI L, 294(3), 2000, pp. 167-170
Immunoreactivity (IR) for synaptosomal-associated protein of 25 kDa (SNAP-2
5) was examined in axons of autonomic vasoconstrictor and vasodilator neuro
ns innervating the lingual and uterine arteries of guinea-pigs. Polyacrylam
ide gel electrophoresis and immunoblotting of protein extracts demonstrated
a SNAP-25-IR band at 25 kDa in both arteries. Quantitative confocal micros
copy demonstrated significantly higher levels of SNAP-25-IR in varicosities
with IR for vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) than in adjacent axons wit
h IR for tyrosine hydroxylase (TH). Levels of SNAP-25-IR in TH-IR axons, re
lative to adjacent VIP-IR axons, were significantly higher in the lingual a
rtery than the uterine artery. These differences in IR for SNAP-25, a prote
in considered essential for calcium-dependent exocytosis of neurotransmitte
rs, raise the possibility that mechanisms of transmitter release may vary b
etween different classes of autonomic neurons. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ir
eland Ltd. All rights reserved.