Neurochemical characteristics of the alpha, beta and gamma motor neurons of the human spinal cord
Project no. 21766 · Status: Kapanmış (Yayın bekleniyor) · 2020
Summary
<p>Spinal somatic motor neuron pools are cell clusters formed by the combination of motor neuron types that innervate the same skeletal muscle but differ structurally, molecularly, and physiologically. Somatic motor neurons can be divided into three groups; alpha, beta, and gamma, according to muscle fiber type they innervate. Alpha motor neurons innervate extrafusal muscle fibers while gamma motor neurons innervate intrafusal muscle fibers. Beta motor neurons innervate both types of muscle fiber. Revealing the molecular differences of somatic motor neuron subtypes is of great importance in the understanding of the diseases related to the degeneration of these cell types and in the developing effective treatments for these diseases. This thesis aimed to investigate the neurochemical properties of the functional subtypes of human somatic motor neurons by using some markers used to molecularly distinguish somatic motor neuron subtypes in animals. For this purpose, the expression of choline acetyl transferase (ChAT), motor neuron and pancreas homeobox 1 (MNX1), vesicular glutamate transporter 1 (VGLUT1), glial cell-line derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) family receptor alpha 1(GFRA1), estrogen-related receptor gamma (ESRRG), and neuronal nuclear protein (NeuN) in somatic motor neurons were studied using immunohistochemical stainings of transverse sections taken from 10% formaldehyde-fixed human spinal cord tissue. In the qualitative analysis of sections individually exposed to immunohistochemical processes for each marker, multipolar large cells (considered motor neurons depending on cell body sizes, morphologies, and locations) showing ChAT, MNX1, VGLUT1, GFRA1, ESRRG and NeuN immunoreactivity were observed in the somatic motor neuron pools. New studies will contribute to our understanding of the molecular classification of human somatic motor neurons at the genomic, transcriptomic, and proteomic levels.</p>