AJP - Renal Physiology, Vol 250, Issue 2 189-F196, Copyright © 1986 by American Physiological Society
Extrinsic innervation of the rat kidney: a retrograde tracing study
V. H. Gattone 2nd, C. F. Marfurt and S. Dallie
To determine the exact modalities involved in the innervation of the
kidney, the present study used a nerve-tracing method with horseradish
peroxidase-wheat germ agglutinin (HRP-WGA) as the tracer. Multiple
injections of HRP-WGA were made in each of the left kidneys of 12 rats
while another four had the HRP-WGA either dripped onto their intact renal
mesothelial surface or injected intravascularly. After retrograde transport
of the tracer to neurons of origin (i.e., 72-h survival), the rats were
briefly perfusion fixed, tissue was removed, and cryostat sections were
cut. The free-floating sections were reacted by the tetramethylbenzidine
technique. Retrogradely labeled neurons were found in the celiac, bilateral
inferior vagal (nodosal), and ipsilateral dorsal root (90% in T12-L1 DRG)
ganglia. More labeled neurons were present in the combined vagal ganglia
than in the combined DRG within each animal. This labeling was specific
compared with the controls (HRP-WGA uptake via intraperitoneal or vascular
routes). The celiac ganglion had many labeled neurons; however, no labeled
neurons were seen in the dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus, nucleus
solitarius, nucleus ambiguus, or any other brain stem structure after renal
injections of HRP-WGA. This study has determined that the sympathetic
nervous system (celiac ganglion) provides the only renal autonomic efferent
(motor) innervation, and the nodosal (inferior vagal) ganglia appear to
provide more renal sensory innervation than do the dorsal root ganglia.
