The autonomic nervous system regulates hormone secretion from the endocrine pancreas, the islets of Langerhans, thus impacting glucose metabolism. The parasympathetic and sympathetic nerves innervate the pancreatic islet, but the precise innervation patterns are unknown, particularly in human. Here we demonstrate that the innervation of human islets is different from that of mouse islets and do...

Enhanced sympathetic signaling, often associated with obesity and chronic stress, is increasingly acknowledged as a contributor to cancer aggressiveness. In prostate cancer, intact sympathetic nerves are critical for tumor formation, and sympathectomy induces apoptosis and blocks tumor growth. Perineural invasion, involving enrichment of intra-prostatic nerves, is frequently observed in prostat...

Yoshimoto M, Wehrwein EA, Novotny M, Swain GM, Kreulen DL, Osborn JW. Effect of stellate ganglionectomy on basal cardiovascular function and responses to 1-adrenoceptor blockade in the rat. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol 295: H2447–H2454, 2008. First published October 17, 2008; doi:10.1152/ajpheart.00958.2008.—Cardiac sympathetic nerve activity is an important short-term controller of cardiac ...

A kinship between cranial and pelvic visceral nerves of vertebrates has been accepted for a century. Accordingly, sacral preganglionic neurons are considered parasympathetic, as are their targets in the pelvic ganglia that prominently control rectal, bladder, and genital functions. Here, we uncover 15 phenotypic and ontogenetic features that distinguish pre- and postganglionic neurons of the cr...

The density of sympathetic nerve terminals in human superficial temporal arteries from 5 cases at intra- and extracranial bypass surgery was examined with two histochemical methods, one with potassium permanganate fixation and the other with the new monoamine oxidase staining technique. By potassium permanganate fixation, small cored vesicles containing fibers of noradrenergic nerve terminals m...

Anatomical studies have demonstrated sympathetic innervation of the renal arterioles, juxtaglomerular apparatus, and renal tubules. Physiologic studies of the effects of the renal efferent nerves on renin release and renal sodium handling indicate that they play an important role in body fluid homeostasis and cardiovascular regulation. In addition, evidence is accumulating that stimulation of i...

Disruption of the blood-brain barrier may play a major role in the pathogenesis of hypertensive encephalopathy. In this study we determined whether sympathetic nerves to cerebral vessels protect the blood-brain barrier during chronic hypertension. We removed the cervical sympathetic ganglion on one side in 24 stroke-prone hypertensive rats when they were 1 month old. After signs of cerebral dys...

Acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase activities were demonstrated in transverse sections of the rabbit ear artery using a “direct coloring” thiocholine technique. BW 284C5l, iso-OMPA and DFP were used as inhibitors, and acetyl and butyrylthiocholine iodides as substrates. Both enzymes caused stain deposits at the medial-adventitial border of the artery, in a region where sympathetic n...

To clarify the origin of efferent nerves containing renal plexus, the retrograde neuronal tracing was utilized with a new exact closed injection system with microcapsules. The microcapsule was positioned in the rat left renal plexus, and the capsule was filled with fluoro-gold. Retrograde labeled cells were observed in the ipsilateral sympathetic trunk, especially T12 and T13, and the ipsilater...

The role of the autonomic nervous system in ventricular function was studied in conscious animals when either the cardiac nerves or the sympathetic nerves to the heart had been eliminated. Regional neural ablation was used to denervate the heart, and blockade of the cardiac sympathetic nerves was performed with propranolol. A reduction in the plateau of the ventricular output was seen in the ca...