Alpha 4 integrins and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 play a role in sympathetic innervation of the heart.

J Neurosci

Neuroscience Research Institute and Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, USA.

Published: December 2002

Sympathetic neurons innervate the heart early in postnatal development, an event that is crucial for proper modulation of blood pressure and cardiac function. However, the axon guidance cues that direct sympathetic neurons to the heart, and the neuronal receptors that recognize those cues, are poorly understood. Here we present evidence that interactions between the alpha4beta1 integrin on sympathetic neurons and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) in the heart plays a role in cardiac innervation. The alpha4 subunit was detected on postnatal rat superior cervical ganglion (SCG) neurons in culture and in cryosections of SCG and heart. VCAM-1 immunoreactivity was detected on cardiac myocytes that associate with invading sympathetic neurons. Purified recombinant soluble VCAM-1 (rsVCAM-1) stimulated SCG neurite outgrowth at levels comparable with laminin 2/4 and fibronectin (Fn), and outgrowth on rs-VCAM-1 and Fn was blocked by antibodies specific for the alpha4 and beta1 integrin subunits. Intrathoracic injection of function-blocking antibodies to alpha4 and VCAM-1, as well as a small molecule inhibitor of alpha4 integrins, significantly reduced sympathetic innervation of the heart. These results indicate that the interaction between alpha4 integrin and VCAM-1 is important for sympathetic innervation of the heart.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6758413PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.22-24-10772.2002DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

sympathetic neurons
16
sympathetic innervation
12
innervation heart
12
vascular cell
8
cell adhesion
8
adhesion molecule-1
8
sympathetic
7
heart
7
neurons
5
vcam-1
5

Similar Publications

The unique architecture of the liver consists of hepatic lobules, dividing the hepatic features of metabolism into 2 distinct zones, namely the pericentral and periportal zones, the spatial characteristics of which are broadly defined as metabolic zonation. R-spondin3 (Rspo3), a bioactive protein promoting the Wnt signaling pathway, regulates metabolic features especially around hepatic central veins. However, the functional impact of hepatic metabolic zonation, regulated by the Rspo3/Wnt signaling pathway, on whole-body metabolism homeostasis remains poorly understood.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Repeated Amphetamine Exposure Blunted Angiotensin II-Induced Responses Mediated by AT Receptors.

Discov Med

January 2025

Department of Pharmacology "Otto Orsingher", Institute of Experimental Pharmacology of Córdoba (IFEC-CONICET), Faculty of Chemical Sciences, National University of Córdoba, X5000 Córdoba, Argentina.

Background: Angiotensin II, is critical in regulating the sympathetic and neuroendocrine systems through angiotensin II type 1 receptors (AT-R). Angiotensin II intracerebral administration increases water and sodium intake, as well as renal sodium excretion. Previously, our group has shown that AT-R is involved in behavioral and neurochemical sensitization induced by amphetamine.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Increased nerve density adversely affects outcome in colorectal cancer and denervation suppresses tumor growth.

J Transl Med

January 2025

Department of Oncology, Shanghai East Hospital, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, P.R. China.

Background: The colon and rectum are highly innervated, with neural components within the tumor microenvironment playing a significant role in colorectal cancer (CRC) progression. While perineural invasion (PNI) is associated with poor prognosis in CRC, the impact of nerve density and diameter on tumor behavior remains unclear. This study aims to evaluate the prognostic value of nerve characteristics in CRC and to verify the impact of nerves on tumor growth.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Chronic neuropathic pain generally has a poor response to treatment with conventional drugs. Sympathectomy can alleviate neuropathic pain in some patients, suggesting that abnormal sympathetic-somatosensory signaling interactions might underlie some forms of neuropathic pain. The molecular mechanisms underlying sympathetic-somatosensory interactions in neuropathic pain remain obscure.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Hodological patterning as an organizing principle in vertebrate motor circuitry.

Front Neuroanat

January 2025

Department of Molecular Medicine, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.

Hodological patterning refers to developmental mechanisms that link the location of neurons in the brain or spinal cord to specific axonal trajectories that direct connectivity to synaptic targets either within the central nervous system or in the periphery. In vertebrate motor circuits, hodological patterning has been demonstrated at different levels, from the final motor output of somatic and preganglionic autonomic neurons targeting peripheral motoneurons and ganglion cells, to premotor inputs from spinal and brainstem neuron populations targeting the somatic motoneurons and preganglionic autonomic neurons, to cortical neurons that delegate movement commands to the brainstem and spinal neurons. In many cases molecular profiling reveals potential underlying mechanisms whereby selective gene expression creates the link between location and axon trajectory.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!