Adult dorsal root ganglia sensory neurons express the early neuronal fate marker doublecortin

It has been widely accepted that doublecortin (DCX) may represent a neuronal fate marker transiently expressed by immature neurons during development of the central and peripheral nervous tissue and in neurogenic areas of the adult brain. Previous work described the presence of DCX in the developing...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of comparative neurology (1911) 2008-11, Vol.511 (3), p.318-328
Main Authors: Dellarole, Anna, Grilli, Mariagrazia
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Biomarkers - metabolism
dorsal root ganglia
doublecortin
Ganglia, Spinal - cytology
Ganglia, Spinal - metabolism
isolectin IB4
Male
Mice
Microtubule-Associated Proteins - genetics
Microtubule-Associated Proteins - metabolism
Neurogenesis - physiology
Neuronal Plasticity - physiology
Neuropeptides - genetics
Neuropeptides - metabolism
Neuroprotective Agents - metabolism
P2X3
Phenotype
Rats
Rats, Sprague-Dawley
sensory neurons
Sensory Receptor Cells - cytology
Sensory Receptor Cells - metabolism
substance P
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Summary:It has been widely accepted that doublecortin (DCX) may represent a neuronal fate marker transiently expressed by immature neurons during development of the central and peripheral nervous tissue and in neurogenic areas of the adult brain. Previous work described the presence of DCX in the developing dorsal root ganglia (DRG), structures of the peripheral nervous system originating from the neural crest, but no information is available on its expression in adulthood. To this purpose, we have performed an immunohistochemical and biochemical analysis for DCX expression in DRG from adult male mice and rats. To our surprise, we demonstrated that the majority of DRG neurons do express DCX, both in somata and in fibers. DCX+ cells have been characterized morphologically and phenotypically with well‐established markers of DRG neuronal subpopulations. A large number of DCX+ cells belong to the small and medium‐sized nociceptive neurons. Additionally, DCX immunoreactivity is present in the spinal cord dorsal horns, the projection area of DRG neurons. The novel and unexpected localization for DCX protein opens up new, interesting vistas on the functional role of this protein in mature neurons and in particular in sensory neurons. J. Comp. Neurol. 511:318–328, 2008. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
ISSN:0021-9967
1096-9861
DOI:10.1002/cne.21845