Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: EC:1.6.99.1 (NADPH-diaphorase)
 3,903 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

We have examined the distribution of cortical neurons in adult monkey cortex which stain for nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate diaphorase (NADPH-d), an enzyme which is involved in the synthesis of nitric oxide. In order to compare distributions across areas we employed a cortical unit defined as the radial column, which refers to the volume of cortex below 1 mm(2) of cortical surface. Numbers of labeled neurons per radial column generate areal density measurements either for the full thickness of the cortex or for individual layers. Measurements were made in six cortical regions (areas V1, V2, STS, auditory cortex, area 4 and area 6). NADPH-d stains nonpyramidal neurons which can be divided into two major groups. Type 1 neurons have large soma diameters, stain densely for NADPH-d and show few morphological variations both within and across areas. Type 2 neurons have small somata and short processes, and can be subdivided on the basis of soma size into dense and light staining categories. Both subcategories of type 2 neurons show significant areal variations in size. In each cortical area the majority of type 1 neurons are located in the white matter. Areal densities of type 1 neurons are minimal in areas V1 and V2, and twice as dense in the frontal cortex. Pairwise comparisons of areal densities among the six areas examined show that in a radial column throughout the full thickness of cortex, areas differ significantly from each other in 12/15 comparisons. Consideration of individual layers shows significant differences in 13/15 comparisons. Type 2 neurons are exclusively located in the cortical gray matter, and in all areas are considerably more numerous than type 1 neurons. Area V1 is unique it that it has up to three times the areal density found in any other cortical area. With reference to published laminar cell density counts our results show that the percentage of labeled NADPH-d neurons in individual layers of area V1 are significantly higher than in the other areas. The laminar distributions of type 1 and type 2 neurons show that each area has a unique profile of NADPH-d expression. The modular or columnar organization of the cortex, also referred to as the radial column hypothesis, is important for understanding both the development and function of the cortex. The present results show that radial columns in individual cortical areas possess distinctive patterns of NADPH-d expression. This important degree of areal heterogeneity of NADPH-d neurons has far reaching implications for both the development and functions of neocortical areas.
Cereb Cortex 2000 Feb
PMID:Non-uniformity of neocortex: areal heterogeneity of NADPH-diaphorase reactive neurons in adult macaque monkeys. 1066 84

The primary visual cortex (V1) of primates receives visual signals from cells in the koniocellular (K), magnocellular (M) and parvocellular (P) layers of the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN). The functional role of the K pathway is unknown, but one proposal is that it modulates visual activity locally via release of nitric oxide (NO). One goal of this study was to examine the distribution of nitric oxide synthetase (NOS), the enzyme that produces NO, using immunocytochemistry for brain NOS (bNOS) or histochemistry for nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) diaphorase activity in the V1 target cells of the K pathway and within the LGN itself. A second goal was to examine bNOS and NADPH diaphorase activity within proposed functional compartments in the second visual area (V2). We examined the LGN, V1 and V2 in squirrel monkeys, owl monkeys and bushbabies. In V1 and V2, we found that dense neuropil staining for NADPH diaphorase mirrored the pattern of high metabolic activity shown with cytochrome oxidase (CO) staining but did not necessarily mirror the pattern of immunolabeling seen with antibodies against NOS. The smooth stellate cells stained for NADPH diaphorase or bNOS were sparse and did not colocalize with LGN recipient zones in V1 or with the CO compartments in V2. LGN cells projecting to V1, including K, M and P cells, were negative for bNOS and NADPH diaphorase. Therefore, high levels of NOS are not limited to the K pathway. Instead, dense NOS activity is present in interneurons and within the neuropil of V1 and V2 that exhibit high metabolic demand.
Cereb Cortex 2000 May
PMID:The distribution of NADPH diaphorase and nitric oxide synthetase (NOS) in relation to the functional compartments of areas V1 and V2 of primate visual cortex. 1084

In the mammalian neocortex, neurons containing tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), the rate-limiting enzyme in catecholamine synthesis, constitute an enigmatic and ill-defined group of aspiny non-pyramidal cells. In the human neocortex, these neurons are mostly found in layers V-VI, the same layers in which another conspicuous group of nitrergic non-pyramidal cells are found - those containing nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) and that can be labeled by nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate diaphorase (NADPHd) histochemistry. The main aim of the present study was to determine the extent to which neurons and fibers containing TH, NADPHd or nNOS co-localize in the human temporal cortex, using immunocytochemistry and NADPHd histochemistry. Furthermore, we have quantified the degree to which axons immunoreactive (ir) for TH contact the somata of neurons by co-labeling with the neuron-specific nuclear protein NeuN. As a result, we show that the population of TH-ir neurons can be subdivided into two main neurochemical groups: those expressing nNOS (26%) and those that do not (74%). There was no co-localization of TH with nNOS in the prominent horizontally oriented plexus of fibers in layer I and we did not observe any double bouquet cells, chandelier cells or basket cells that contained TH. Finally, we observed that only 6% of the TH-ir axonal boutons examined (n = 1724) could be seen to contact neuronal somata. Thus, most TH-ir axons must form synapses with dendrites. In conjunction with data from previous studies, these results suggest that TH is found in different neurochemically defined subpopulations of non-pyramidal neurons in layers V-VI of the human temporal cortex. Consequently, it appears that a partial overlap of the catecholaminergic and nitrergic systems is probably due to the intrinsic cortical TH-nNOS-ir neurons.
Cereb Cortex 2003 Mar
PMID:Different populations of tyrosine-hydroxylase-immunoreactive neurons defined by differential expression of nitric oxide synthase in the human temporal cortex. 1257 Nov 19


<< Previous 1 2