Calcitonin gene-related peptide-receptor component protein expression in the uterine cervix, lumbosacral spinal cord, and dorsal root ganglia

Peptides. 2002 Mar;23(3):507-14. doi: 10.1016/s0196-9781(01)00638-6.

Abstract

The neuropeptide calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) may play a role in neurogenic inflammation, tissue remodeling of the uterine cervix, promoting vasodilation, parturition, and processing of sensory information in the spinal cord. CGRP-immunoreactive nerves of the cervix and spinal cord have been studied but cellular identification of the CGRP receptor has received little attention. CGRP-receptor component protein (CGRP-RCP) is a small protein associated with the CGRP receptor; thus, immunostaining for the CGRP-RCP can be used to identify sites of the CGRP receptor. We determined sites of CGRP-RCP immunoreactivity relative to the presence of CGRP-ir nerve fibers in the female rat uterine cervix, spinal cord, and dorsal root ganglia. CGRP-RCP immunoreactivity was expressed in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord, venules of the uterine cervix, and perikarya of sensory neurons in dorsal root ganglia. CGRP-immunoreactive fibers were adjacent to CGRP-RCP-immunoreactive vessels in the cervix and among CGRP-RCP-immunoreactive structures in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord. This suggests CGRP-RCP is associated with structures innervated by CGRP nerves and these interactions may be changed in tissues in response to an appropriate stimulus.

Publication types

  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Cervix Uteri / metabolism*
  • Female
  • Ganglia, Spinal / metabolism*
  • Lumbosacral Region
  • Rats
  • Rats, Sprague-Dawley
  • Receptors, Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide / biosynthesis*
  • Receptors, Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide / immunology
  • Receptors, Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide / metabolism
  • Spinal Cord / metabolism*
  • Uterus / metabolism

Substances

  • Crcp protein, rat
  • Receptors, Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide