Ultrastructural transneuronal degeneration study of axonal elements within the paratrigeminal nucleus in sinoaortic deafferented rats

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Morphological study that searched to authenticate the presence of sinoaortic baroreceptor inputs within the dorsolateral medullary nucleus under electron microscopy analysis. METHODS: After a 5-day survival period, 9 baroreceptor-denervated rats deeply anaesthetized with equithesin were transcardially perfused and their brains were histologically processed. RESULTS: The neuronal cytoarchitecture of the paratrigeminal nucleus comprehends afferent projections from other nuclei that have a distributive character regarding visceral and nociceptive functions in the cardiovascular reflex integration response. CONCLUSION: The medial portion of the nucleus receives afferent projections of the rostral ventrolateral medulla, as shown by retrograde neurotracing studies. The present results show that the medial extent of the paratrigeminal nucleus contains degenerated axoplasmic cellular components in sinoaortic deafferented rats. The number of degenerated axonal fibers was also larger in this area of the nucleus.