Participation of prevertebral ganglia in the sympathetic innervation of the stomach in cats during postnatal ontogenesis
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33910/2687-1270-2026-7-2-220-227Keywords:
sympathetic neurons, stomach, innervation, neuropeptide Y, tyrosine hydroxylase, somatostatin, postnatal ontogenesisAbstract
The stomach in mammals is innervated by neurons of the sympathetic prevertebral ganglia: paired celiac ganglia (CG) and unpaired superior mesenteric ganglion (SMG). The aim of the study was to determine the localization and neurochemical characteristics of the sympathetic neurons of the CG and SMG innervating the stomach in cats of different age groups (1, 10, 20, 30 days, 6 months, and 10 years (old)) using the method of retrograde axonal transport of Fast Blue (FB) in combination with immunohistochemistry. In cats of all studied age groups, the number of labeled neurons in the CG predominated compared to the SMG. The number of FB-labeled neurons increased in the first 10 days of life in the CG and at 20 days in the SMG, and then remained constant, including in aged animals. All labeled cells were catecholaminergic and showed immunoreactivity (IR) to the key enzyme of catecholamine biosynthesis — tyrosine hydroxylase. The percentage of FB-labeled neuropeptide Y-IR and somatostatin-IR neurons remained constant throughout the life of the animals, while calbindin-IR-labeled neurons were absent in all cats studied. Thus, connections between the prevertebral ganglia and the stomach are established in cats by the time of birth. The number of sympathetic neurons innervating the stomach increases during postnatal development, while their neurochemical composition remains constant.
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