Logo image
Back
Thyroid hormone control of preganglionic innervation of the adrenal medulla and chromaffin cell development in the rat. An ultrastructural, morphometric and biochemical evaluation
Journal article   Peer reviewed

Thyroid hormone control of preganglionic innervation of the adrenal medulla and chromaffin cell development in the rat. An ultrastructural, morphometric and biochemical evaluation

Christopher Lau, Marcy Franklin, Lois McCarthy, Arlene Pylypiw, Leonard L. Ross and Michael S Franklin
Brain research. Developmental brain research, v 44(1), pp 109-117
1988
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/0165-3806(88)90122-8
PMID: 2466585
Featured in Collection :   UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel

Abstract

Adrenomedullary development Preganglionic innervation Thyroid hormone
In the rat, functional connections between the splanchnic nerve and the adrenal medulla are immature at birth and do not become fully competent until the first postnatal week. Neonatal administration of triiodothyronine (T 3) accelerates this process, and the present study was undertaken to elucidate the underlying mechanisms. Rats were given T 3 (0.1 mg/kg, s.c.) daily for 9 days beginning 1 day after birth. Preganglionic innervation of the adrenal medulla was examined by retrograde axonal transport of horseradish peroxidase (HRP). At 10 days of age, there was an increased number of labeled perikarya in the spinal cord of the hyperthyroid pups. Ultrastructural examination revealed a corresponding increase in synaptic density in the adrenal medulla and in the activity of choline acetyltransferase, a marker for preganglionic cholinergic nerve terminals. These effects were attenuated by 25 days of age, whereupon deficits in HRP-labeled neurons and adrenomedullary synapses were noted. Similarly, replication of chromaffin cells was enhanced transiently in the T 3 group during the initial stage of hyperthyroidism, but subsequent long-lasting deficits in cell numbers were noted, along with a corresponding retardation of ontogeny of adrenal catecholamine biosynthesis and storage. Thus, neonatal hyperthyroidism accelerates synaptic development in the sympatho-adrenal axis but suppresses maturation of the target chromaffin cells, ultimately leading to, impaired adrenomedullary function.

Metrics

10 Record Views
16 citations in Web of Science
14 citations in Scopus

Details

UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

This publication has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:

#3 Good Health and Well-Being

InCites Highlights

Data related to this publication, from InCites Benchmarking & Analytics tool:

Web of Science research areas
Developmental Biology
Neurosciences
Logo image