Summary
In adult inbred rats of the AVN strain, branches of the crural interosseous nerve were dissected out from donors and transplanted into the brain of recipients, together with a cluster of Pacinian corpuscles, (either into a suction cavity or the cerebral cortex) into a slit 1–2 mm deep. The grafts were fixed and processed for electron microscopy 10 days to 6 months after the operation, and their ultrastructure was examined. Sporadic axons of small diameter grew into the nerve branches of some of the grafts from 11 days onward, and became myelinated during the 2nd month after the operation, but none of the transplanted Pacinian corpuscles became reinnervated. The corpuscles, however, survived denervation and grafting. Most of them retained a well-preserved inner core and an intact capsule, consisting of a normal complement of 29.2±1.0 (mean ±SE) capsular layers (n=8), as did the corpuscles previously examined after denervation in situ. Some of the corpuscles underwent degenerative changes, presumably due to a delayed or restricted revascularization. In this group of corpuscles, the inner core underwent disintegration and was gradually replaced by collagen fibrils, whereas the capsule remained preserved but the number of its layers eventually reduced by 40%. It is assumed that the lack of reinnervation of the grafted Pacinian corpuscles was due to the paucity of regenerating axons, and their failure to form correct projections along those Schwann cell columns connected with the corpuscles.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aguayo AJ, Björklund A, Stenevi U, Carlstedt T (1984) Fetal mesencephalic neurons survive and extend long axons across peripheral nervous system grafts inserted into the adult rat striatum. Neurosci Lett 45:53–58
Amemori T, Soukup T, Bureš J (1985) Electroolfactogram of the olfactory epithelium transplanted on the parietal cortex of rats. Physiol Bohemoslov 34:251
Benfey M, Aguayo AJ (1982) Extensive elongation of axons from rat brain into peripheral nerve grafts. Nature 296: 150–152
Chi NH, Bignami A, Bich NT, Dahl D (1980) Autologous sciatic nerve grafts to the rat spinal cord. Immunofluorescence studies with neurofilament and gliofilament (GTA) antiserum. Exp Neurol 58:568–580
Das GD, Hallas BH, Das KG (1980) Transplantation of brain tissue in the brain of cat. I. Growth characteristics of transplants from embryos of different ages. Am J Anat 158:135–145
David S, Aguayo AJ (1981) Axonal elongation into peripheral nervous system “bridges” after central nervous system injury in adult rats. Science 214:931–933
Glees PA, Mohiuddin A, Smith AG (1949) Transplantation of Pacinian corpuscles in the brain and thigh of the cat. Acta Anat (Basel) 7:213–229
Horvat JC (1980) Influence des cellules de Schwann greffées sur la régénération des fibres nerveuses intraspinales lors de la transplantation de fragments de nerf périphérique, de muscle squelettique et de glande sous-maxillaire dans la moelle épinière de la Souris. C R Seances Acad Sci (II) 290:127–130
Horvat JC (1983) Elongation of mouse spinal axons in isogenic grafts of sciatic-nerve, skeletal muscle and submaxillarygland. Arch Anat Microsc Morphol Exp 72:251–272
Hunt CC (1974) The Pacinian corpuscles. In: Hubbard JI (ed) The peripheral nervous system. Plenum Press, London, pp 374–404
Kao CC, Chang LW, Bloodworth JMB (1979) Axonal regeneration across transected spinal cords. Exp Neurol 54:591–615
Korthals JK, Wisniewski HM, Ghetti B, Cook RD (1974) The fate of the axon and its terminal in the Pacinian corpuscles following sciatic nerve section. J Neurocytol 3:384–403
Kromer LF, Björklund A, Stenevi U (1979) Intracephalic implants: A technique for studying neuronal interactions. Science 204:1117–1119
Monti Graziadei GA, Graziadei PPC (1984) In: Sladek JR Jr, Gash Don M (eds) The olfactory organ. Plenum Press, New York, pp 167–186
Morrison EE, Graziadei PPC (1983) Transplants of olfactory mucosa in the rat brain. I. A light microscopic study of transplant organization. Brain Res 279:241–245
Raisman G, Ebner FF (1983) Mossy fibre projections into and out of hippocampal transplants. Neuroscience 9:783–801
Richardson PM, Aguayo AJ, McGuinness UM (1980) Axons from CNS neurons regenerate into PNS grafts. Nature 284:264–265
Richardson PM, McGuinness UM, Aguayo AJ (1982) Peripheral nerve autografts to the rat spinal cord: studies with axonal tracing methods. Brain Res 237:147–162
Stenevi U, Björklund A (1981) Intracerebral grafting in adult rats. In: Björklund A, Olson L (eds) Proceedings of Workshop at the 5th European Neuroscience Meeting. Liège, pp 111–120
Stenevi U, Björklund A, Svendgaard NA (1976) Transplantation of central and peripheral monoamine neurons to the adult rat brain: techniques and conditions for survival. Brain Res 114:1–20
Sugar O, Gerard RW (1940) Spinal cord regeneration in the rat. J Neurophysiol 3:1–19
Sunde N, Zimmer J (1981) Transplantation of central nervous tissue. An introduction with results and implications. Acta Neurol Scand 63:323–335
Weinberg EL, Raine CS (1980) Reinnervation of peripheral nerve segments implanted into the central nervous system. Brain Res 198:1–11
Zelená J (1980) Rapid degeneration of developing Pacinian corpuscles after denervation. Brain Res 187:97–111
Zelená J (1982) Survival of Pacinian corpuscles after denervation in adult rats. Cell Tissue Res 224:673–683
Zelená J (1984) The effect of long-term denervation on the ultrastructure of Pacinian corpuscle in the cat. Cell Tissue Res 238:387–394
Zelená J, Jirmanová I, Transplantation of Pacinian corpuscles into the central nervous system. Verh Anat Ges (in press)
Zelená J, Sobotková M, Zelená H (1978) Age-modulated dependence of Pacinian corpuscles upon their sensory innervation. Physiol Bohemoslov 27:437–443
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Jirmanová, I., Zelená, J. Transplantation of Pacinian corpuscles of the rat into the brain. Acta Neuropathol 69, 314–321 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00688310
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00688310