Physiological properties of enkephalin-containing neurons in the spinal dorsal horn visualized by expression of green fluorescent protein in BAC transgenic mice.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Enkephalins are endogenous opiates that are assumed to modulate nociceptive information by mediating synaptic transmission in the central nervous system, including the spinal dorsal horn.

Results

To develop a new tool for the identification of in vitro enkephalinergic neurons and to analyze enkephalin promoter activity, we generated transgenic mice for a bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC). Enkephalinergic neurons from these mice expressed enhanced green fluorescent protein (eGFP) under the control of the preproenkephalin (PPE) gene (penk1) promoter. eGFP-positive neurons were distributed throughout the gray matter of the spinal cord, and were primarily observed in laminae I-II and V-VII, in a pattern similar to the distribution pattern of enkephalin-containing

SUBMITTER: Fukushima T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3115906 | biostudies-literature | 2011 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature