Kazumi Taniguchi

Cysteine proteinases in rat dorsal root ganglion and spinal cord, with special reference to the co-localization of these enzymes with calcitonin gene-related peptide in lysosomes

To examine the localization of lysosomal cysteine proteinases, cathepsins B, H, and L, and their correlation with a neuropeptide, calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) in nerve cells, immunocytochemistry was applied to rat dorsal root ganglion (DRG) and spinal cord (SC) of lumbar segments. By light microscopy, granular immunodeposits for cathepsins B and L were localized in small and large nerve cells in DRG and SC. The cathepsin B- and L-positive smaller nerve cells in DRG and large nerve cells in the ventral horn of SC were also immunostained by anti-CGRP. By electron microscopy, nerve cells in DRG and SC contained lysosomes labeled by immunogold particles indicating cathepsins B and L, while immunogold particles for cathepsin L labeled lysosomes of glial cells. Double immunostaining co-localized immunogold particles for cathepsin B or L and CGRP in lysosomes of small nerve cells in DRG and motoneurons in SC. Moreover, cathepsin H was immunocytochemically demonstrated in lysosomes of satellite cells in DRG, while lysosomes of perivascular microglia-like cells were labeled by immunogold particles for cathepsins B, H, and L. The results suggest the possibility that lysosomes in nerve cells participate in regulation of intraneuronal CGRP level by degrading CGRP.

Developmental Studies on Enzyme Histochemistry of the Three Olfactory Epithelia in the Golden Hamster

Olfactory receptor cells can occur at three sites in mammals, i.e., olfactory epithelium proper (OEP), vomeronasal organ (VNO) and septal organ of Masera (MO) (Adams 1972; Ciges et al. 1977; Graziadei 1977; Kratzing 1978; Rodolfo-Masera 1943). Although the significance of these three olfactory systems is not completely understood, morphological and experimental data do suggest functional specializations (Aronson and Cooper 1974; Estes 1972; Murphy and Schneider 1970; Powers and Winans 1975; Winans and Scalia 1970). Differences in the enzymatic maturation of the three sensory epithelia may reflect ontogenetic shifts in both the relative importance of these tissues and/or enzymes.