Tracing Axons of Peripheral Nerves in Rats: A Potential Technique to Study the Equine Recurrent Laryngeal Nerve

• Published in: Journal of investigative surgery 2004-05, Vol.17 (3), p.151-162
• Main Authors: Velde, Karsten, Ross, Michael W., Orsini, James A., Parente, Eric J., Foley, Brian, Richardson, Dean W., Miselis, Richard R.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: adeno-associated virus; Animals; axonal tracing; Axons - drug effects; Cholera Toxin - pharmacology; Dependovirus; equine idiopathic laryngeal hemiplegia; Fluorescent Dyes - pharmacology; Genetic Vectors - pharmacology; horseradish peroxidase; Horseradish Peroxidase - pharmacology; Horses - anatomy & histology; Male; Models, Animal; peripheral nerves; Peripheral Nerves - anatomy & histology; Peripheral Nerves - drug effects; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; recurrent laryngeal nerve; Recurrent Laryngeal Nerve - anatomy & histology; Recurrent Laryngeal Nerve - drug effects
• ISSN: 0894-1939; 1521-0553
• DOI: 10.1080/08941930490446937

To study the fascicular anatomy of peripheral nerves, three different groups of retrograde axonal tracers were evaluated: fluorophores, horseradish peroxidase conjugated to subunit B of cholera toxin (CT-HRP), and adeno-associated virus (AAV). The hindlimb nerves in rats served as a model to identify the most efficient tracer in regard to labeling axons within peripheral nerves. The rat's tibial and common peroneal nerves were injected with the different tracers and the sciatic nerve was subsequently examined for evidence of labeled axons. The CT-HRP clearly provided the best results in this rat model. Subsequently, CT-HRP was injected into the recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) of two horses in order to identify the location and distribution pattern of the RLN axons within the course of the cervical vagus nerve trunk. No labeling could be observed in either of the two horses.