TY - JOUR
T1 - Ultrastructural evidence for GABA-mediated disinhibitory circuits in the spinal cord of the cat
AU - Liu, Hantao
AU - Llewellyn-Smith, Ida J.
AU - Pilowsky, Paul
AU - Basbaum, Allan I.
PY - 1992/4/13
Y1 - 1992/4/13
N2 - The synaptic relationships between γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-immunoreactive and enkephalin-immunoreactive profiles in the cat spinal cord were examined using combined pre-embedding immunoperoxidase and post-embedding immunogold electron microscopic immunocytochemistry. Although colchicine was not used, enkephalin-immunoreactive somata and dendrites were detected in regions associated with nociceptive transmission, including laminae I, II, V and X. In each of these laminae, many GABA-immunoreactive terminals were found presynaptic to enkephalin-immunoreactive cell bodies and dendrites. We propose that disinhibition of opioid-containing neurons may be a common feature of pain-related circuits in the cat spinal cord.
AB - The synaptic relationships between γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-immunoreactive and enkephalin-immunoreactive profiles in the cat spinal cord were examined using combined pre-embedding immunoperoxidase and post-embedding immunogold electron microscopic immunocytochemistry. Although colchicine was not used, enkephalin-immunoreactive somata and dendrites were detected in regions associated with nociceptive transmission, including laminae I, II, V and X. In each of these laminae, many GABA-immunoreactive terminals were found presynaptic to enkephalin-immunoreactive cell bodies and dendrites. We propose that disinhibition of opioid-containing neurons may be a common feature of pain-related circuits in the cat spinal cord.
KW - Analgesia
KW - Dorsal horn
KW - Enkephalin
KW - GABA
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0026577130&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/0304-3940(92)90501-W
DO - 10.1016/0304-3940(92)90501-W
M3 - Article
C2 - 1407660
AN - SCOPUS:0026577130
SN - 0304-3940
VL - 138
SP - 183
EP - 187
JO - Neuroscience letters
JF - Neuroscience letters
IS - 1
ER -