Spinal projections of the A5, A6 (locus coeruleus), and A7 noradrenergic cell groups in rats.

ABSTRACT: The pontine noradrenergic cell groups, A5, A6 (locus coeruleus), and A7, provide the only noradrenergic innervation of the spinal cord, but the individual contribution of each of these populations to the regional innervation of the spinal cord remains controversial. We used an adeno-associated viral (AAV) vector encoding green fluorescent protein under an artificial dopamine beta-hydroxylase (PRSx8) promoter to trace the spinal projections from the A5, A6, and A7 groups. Projections from all three groups travel through the spinal cord in both the lateral and ventral funiculi and in the dorsal surface of the dorsal horn, but A6 axons take predominantly the dorsal and ventral routes, whereas A5 axons take mainly a lateral and A7 axons a ventral route. The A6 group provides the densest innerv

SUBMITTER: Bruinstroop E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3508755 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature